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THE AUTHOR. 



Hand Book of Timber 
Preservation 



Souvenir Edition 

Revised 



By Samuel M. Rowe^ C. E, 

M. Am, Soc. C. E. ahJ M. W, S, E. 
Mem, A, R, E, ^ M, of W, Assn. 



CHICAGO 

Pettibone, Sawtell & Co., Printers 
1904 



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COPYRIGHT, 1904, BT SAMUEL M. BOWB. 



luiTinARYofCONGHESS 
Two Gaoies Received 



COPYRIGHT, 1908 

COPYRIGHT, 1909 

BY 

SAMUEL M. ROWE 




ROBERT DELOS ROWE (Deceased). 

M. Am. Soc. C. E. 

To whose labors and intelligent studies and investigations 

much that is most valuable in this work is due, 

this book is affectionately dedicated. 



PREFACE. 



" Since 1885, when the matter was iirst taken up 
under the tutelage of the late Joseph P. Card, the 
author has labored to perfect the methods and appli- 
ances, studying each principle and all questions con- 
nected with the operation of timber preserving in the 
direction of convenience, economy and effectiveness. 
Most of the matter contained is original, and this is 
the first attempt made to furnish a complete practical 
guide for the operator, containing full directions, that 
has been made in this country. Those so far operating 
works of this kind have relied upon training their 
own operator and carefully refraining from letting 
any but general items of information go out. 

In a general way, the book is an epitome of the 
experience and observations of the author, assisted 
by Robert D. Rowe, recently deceased, giving results 
of much labor, study and time. 

It is not pretended that the operator can take the 
matter up from the book and proceed at once to run 
the business, as there is too much that calls for a 
trained and matured judgment; but the book will be 
of much service as a handbook and guide during the 
operation of the plant as well as to hints during the 
construction. 

The author is but too sensible of the imperfect 
arrangement of the work and that much is yet to do 
to make it complete, but trusts to be able to offer in 
the near future an edition that will correct, to some 
extent, the imperfections of this." 



The Souvenir Edition of the Handbook on Timber 
Preservation issued in 1900 is now exhausted, and to 
meet the ever increasing demand for information on 
the practical side of this subject would seem to jus- 
tify another edition. To meet this demand, the sec- 
ond edition is published after being revised and 
extended in its scope somewhat. 

An effort is made to bring in the writing of other 
experienced men, as well as to add many items of 
experience and results of experiments that will aid 
the student and operator in a fuller understanding of 
the principles involved in the operation, the nature 
of the chemicals used, and the character of the woods 
treated. 

The former work has been criticised, some of the 
statements declared wrong and the conclusions erro- 
neous. That there were mistakes and grounds for 
criticism is not denied, and where they have been 
pointed out the critic has the thanks of the author. 
The author does not claim a high degree of erudi- 
tion, but has tried to give the facts derived from 
long practical experience in the business, in a 
manner to be understood by any man of average 
intelligence. 

In all cases care has been taken to give proper 
credit where matter has been copied from other 
authors. Some of the other processes are noticed in 
a brief way, giving such information as came into 
reach in the publications of the promoters. Octave 
Chanute, C. E., John D. Isaacs of the Southern Pacific 
Railway, President E. P. Ripley and General Man- 
ager Mudge, both of the A., T. & S. F. Ry., deserve 
special mention as furnishing much information that 
has aided in this compilation. 



PRESERVATION OF TIMBER. 



INTRODUCTORY. 



Section i. The primary purpose of this treatise is 
to furnish and collate such information as to the 
practical workings as shall enable the operator to 
fully understand the philosophy and principles in- 
volved, and to serve as a hand book of information, 
both during the construction of the works and dur- 
ing the operation of the same. 

In the preservation of timber, the machinery to 
be used, as well as the movements and methods 
used in the operation of the process, are somewhat 
complex; just as in the manufacture of steel, in the 
process of making or refining sugar or of almost 
anv line of mechanical business, so that to insure 
proper results the operator must not only have a 
thorough knowledge of the^ principles involved, but 
must have a thorough training in the method of 
handling the nlant. 

In the first place, the works are expensive, the 
amount of^ capital involved in the erection and 
equipment is a very large amount; then the chemi- 
cals are costly, hence any mistake in handling: or 
failure to do good work is an expensive mistake, in- 
deed. 

The appliances for the treatment of timber have 
been brought to such a degree of efficiency that, if 
properly handled, there is little chance of failure or 
disappointment in the results. 

VARIOUS PROCESSES USED. 

Sec. 2. While, as generally conceded, the use of 
dead oil product of coal tar, usually called creosote, 
has shown in some cases high results, yet for sev- 



eral reasons reference to it will be but incidental, 
and attention will be given almost exclusively to 
that of the Burnett and to the Zinc-Tannin or Well- 
house processes, in which the chloride of zinc is 
the preservative agent. There are two reasons why 
the creosote process will be largely restricted in its 
use. In the first place, the process is very expen- 
sive, the oil being more and more costly from year 
to year, and in the second place, there is the diffi- 
culty and uncertainty of getting a suitable article. 
Its much greater cost will necessarily restrict its 
use to cases where the amount of timber is small 
and the lasting quality of the timber paramount. 

On the other hand, the zinc-tannin process, cost- 
ing but a fraction of that of the former, has been 
found only less effective, showing an economy that 
is very marked, especially when applied to the treat- 
ment of railroad cross-ties and bridge timber. It is 
therefore the purpose to treat here of this matter 
with reference to this line of work. 

As the Wellhouse process is a modification of the 
Burnett, the latter will be noticed only incidentally, 
but the former, being the more complex, will be 
treated of at length. 

ZINC-TANNIN OR WELLHOUSE PROCESS. 
METHODS AND RULES. 

Sec. 3. The Zinc-Taiinin or Wellhouse process 
for treating and preserving railroad cross-ties, 
bridge or other timbers against early decay, consists 
in first subjecting the timber to the action of steam 
in an air-tight, sealed retort for such length of time 
as is found necessary to open the pores of the tim- 
ber and loosen and expel the natural saps. This is 
followed by a vacuum of from 18 to 26 inches, 
thereby withdrawing all the vapors and freeing the 
timber from condensations of steam introduced and 
of the volatilized saps. 

Sec. 4. This is followed by the introduction of 
zinc-chloride in solution one and a half to three per 



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cent strong, as the character of the timber under 
treatment shall require, the solution carrying at 
the same time one-half of one per cent in weight of 
dissolved glue. 

This solution is held under pressure of lOO pounds 
for a period of two and one-half hours to six hours, 
depending, as before, on the character and condition 
of the timber treated. 

Sec. 5. The retort is then freed by forcing the 
chloride solution back into its receptacle and in- 
troducinor a one-half of one per cent solution of 
tannin and holding it under pressure, as with the 
zinc and glue, for two hours or thereabout and then 
withdrawing it, completing the operation. This 
process is sometimes varied by introducing the glue 
in a separate solution, in which case a separate tub 
will be necessary for the glue solution. 

Sec. 6. This process under consideration differs 
from the Burnett only in the addition of the glue 
followed by the tannin, the glue and the tannin com- 
bining and forming a leathery and insoluble product 
which helps to render the timber impervious to the 
absorption and giving off of water, so orotecting 
the chloride, which is supposed to be easily washed 
out of the timber, thus losing its antiseptic effect. 

Sec. 7. The wide range in time is necessary to 
meet the difference in the character and condition of 
the timber, and the proper and most economical 
and effective practice can only be fixed by first 
determining what absorption can be secured, and 
thenceforward conforming to this. This can best 
be done by varying the time or the strength of the 
solution, or both. 

Sec. 8. A very important requirement is that the 
timber being treated shall have a reasonable 
amount of seasoning, say sixty to ninety days, vary- 
ing in length of time as climatic conditions shall 
vary. 

In a warm, dry climate, sixty days may be ample, 
while in a moist, cold climate much more time will 
be necessary to fit the timber for good results. 



Sec. 9. That a sufficient amount of antiseptic be 
introduced; and its thorough dissemination through 
the piece, is the essential point to be attained. 

It is only by careful observation and study by an 
experienced management that the best results can 
be secured. 

CAUTION. 

Sec. 10. The process and methods here outlined 
have been in practice many years with results that 
place them beyond the sphere of experiment, hence 
any departure from them with a view to improve 
should be guarded against and deprecated by the 
management. Any experiments in the direction of 
improvement should be made by those competent to 
direct and situated to carry out a long series of ex- 
periments. Even this should be attempted with 
caution and hesitation, as it takes long to get definite 
results. 

APPLIANCES. 

Sec. II. The appliances used are much the same 
as those for the Burnett or creosote processes, the 
minor appliances for preparing the chemicals only 
differing. In each and all the steaming is identical, 
and the storing tanks and piping are interchange- 
able from one process to the other. 

First — ^The steam plant for furnishing the neces- 
sary steam to the retort, for driving the different 
pumps and machinery, including a dynamo to fur- 
nish light, and to steam coils for heating the 
works. 

The electric light is auite essential, as the works 
should run night and day. 

Second — The retort, sometimes called the cylin- 
der, made of steel plate, and of such dimensions as 
will receive the charge with its tram cars on which 
the timber is loaded in such shape as to fill the cylin- 
der as nearly as possible. The retort most con- 
venient is usually about 106 feet in clear length, 
capable of receiving thirteen tram cars with their 



loads of eiRht-feet ties, and of such diameter as is 
deemed most suitable and convenient, generally 
about six feet. It contains tracks on which the 
tram cars run, the gauge of which is the same as 
that of the tram-yard tracks, by means of which 
the charge is run in and out. 

The retort is provided with a strong door, self- 
sealing, or may be hand-bolted as may be desired, 
fitting tightly to resist pressure and to prevent leak- 
age and waste. 

THE "SPIDER'^ DOOR. 

The retort door, as shown in Fig. 4, is old as to its 
general form, but has lately been improved in its 
details so that it proves economical even at an in- 
creased cost. The door with its hinge arms is 
cast in one piece, from cast steel with a large reduc- 
tion of thickness over that of a cast iron door. It 
is faced in the lathe and fitted with stud screw 4 
inches in diameter ; the hub is fitted with a bronze 
bushing working closely on the buttressed thread 
of the screw, and the friction plates, made of the 
finest tool steel, have two circles of steel balls, 
which almost entirely eliminates friction, enabling it 
to close quickly and with the least amount of labor. 

Ordinarily only one door is necessary, aside from 
avoiding the expense of a second door, complications 
in the appliances and the operation of charging the 
retort, no special advantage is derived from such 
an arrangement, as the confining of operation to the 
one point is believed to be the most economical. 

The weight of the cast steel spider door is about 
6.500 lbs. 

WEIGHT OF CASTING FOR CAST STEEL 
DOOR, FOR RETORT. 

Dia. 78>4''-2i/4'' thick. 14,486 cu. in. 
Extra at hub, 810 cu. in. 

— 15,296 cu. in. 

1,728" 



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equal 8.852 cu. ft. X 490 lbs. equal 4,337.5 lbs. cast 
steel — say 4,400 lbs. exclusive of hub and fixtures. — 
Hingearms 200 

4,600 

For hub, add 700 lbs. 

Other fittings, 500 lbs., and stud screw, 750 lbs., 
making a total of 6,300 lbs. — say, 6,500 lbs. 

Third — The vacuum pump, used to free the retort 
from air and vapors remaining after the steam has 
been released from it, to encourage the outflow of 
natural saps of the timber and to prepare it for the 
ready absorption of the solution by freeing it from 
hot vapors and expanding the small amount of va- 
pors remaining. In connection with the vacuum 
pump, and a very important adjunct, is the surface 
condenser and the hot-well, by which the vapors 
are condensed before reaching the vacuum pump, 
relieving it of a large part of its labors. 

Fourth — The air compressor, by which the solu- 
tion used is forced back into its receptacle quickly, 
by pumping air into the retort, as well as for other 
purposes where compressed air is desired. 

Fifth — The force pump, by which pressure is pro- 
duced upon the charge in the retort, a boiler-feed 
pump, a pump for handling water for the various 
purposes about the plant and for fire security. 

Sixth — Large tanks or receptacles for the various 
solutions, consisting of a tank for the prepared 
chloride solution, a tank for the tannin solution and 
a tank for water storage, each of which should be of 
such dimensions as will amply meet the require- 
ments of the plant. 

Standard railway tanks will do for a small plant, 
say for two retorts, but for a larger plant a tank 30 
feet in diameter and 20 feet deep, holding some- 
thing like 100,000 gallons, is about what is most 
suitable. These may be of wood, iron bound except 
for creosote, which should be steel throughout. 

Seventh — The vats for the preparation of the 
chloride should be of wood, lead lined, the one for 

14 




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Jissolving ten feet square and two and a half feel 
deep, and the storage vat for concentrated solution, 
say eight by twelve feet and three and one-half feet 
deep. The concentrated chloride, as well as the 
acid used in its manufacture, are both destructive 
to iron or even steel, hence a lining of half-inch lead 
is interposed on which the acids will not act, hence 
will last for years. A small mixing tub for dissolv- 
ing glue, say about eight feet in diameter and four 
feet deep, in which it is soaked and dissolved, and 
to some extent diluted preparatory to mixing with 
the chloride solution, is usually used. The tannin 
requires a similar tub, in which four or five barrels 
of the bark extract can be emptied, diluted and used. 

To each of these mixing vats or tubs is provided 
an ejector, by means of which the contents can be 
forced up into the proper receptacle as needed. The 
pipes and valves, through which the concentrated 
solution is passed, must be of chemically pure lead, 
as the lining is. 

Eighth — The system of iron piping to carry 
through all the different movements is too exten- 
sive and complicated to be described, except in a 
general way, as almost every case calls for some 
modification on account of special conditions. 
They can be divided and described in the following 
order : 

(a) The solution pipes consist of a system of 
large iron pipes connecting the solution tubs with 
the retort by which the movement is quickly made, 
the full control of which is in the hands of the 
operator by means of a system of valves. 

^ (b) The air and vacuum pipes are a system of 
piping through which connection between the retort 
and the vacuum pump and the air compressor is 
rnade, by which vacuum is drawn and by which 
air is forced into the retort in forcing back the solu- 
tion to its receptacle, and also by which the steam or 
the air is released from the retort. 

^ (c) ^ The circulating system is a system of minor 
pipes, including a force pump by which a plentiful 

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stream of cold water is forced through the surface 
condenser during production of vacuum, by means 
of which the steam and vapors from the retort are 
condensed and cooled before reaching the vacuum 
pump. 

(d) The blow-back system is a set of pipes of 
minor size by which the last remnant of solution is 
forced back into its proper receptacle by means of 
the air compressor continuing its service after the 
solution valves are closed. 

(e) The puddler consists of a system of small 
pipes connecting between the compressor and the 
solution tubs, the chloride dissolving vat, the chlo- 
ride storage vat and the glue and tannin mixing 
tubs, by which they may be agitated by a stream of 
air from the compressor. 

This is quite important, as it keeps the chemicals 
in the solution in suspension and aids in rapidly 
dissolving those in the mixing or dissolving vats. 

(f) Steam coils and heating pipes. These con- 
sist of steam coils in each of the solution tubs by 
which the desired temperature is secured to each 
solution; also such radiators as may be necessary to 
heat the building, all having steam direct from the 
steam boilers and discharging all condensations by 
means of a steam trap to the boiler-feed tank or to 
any desired hot-water reservoir. 

(g) Steam pipes. The steam pipes from the 
boilers by which steam is furnished to each of the 
pumps, engines, etc., need not be further noticed 
here except to say that they should be of ample size 
and should lead as direct as possible to each ma- 
chine, and should be well protected against radia- 
tion. This should be especially and effectually done 
with the line conveying steam to the stationary 
power by which charges are handled, which are lo- 
cated at considerable distance from the boilers. 

(h) Suction and discharge pipes of the various 
pumps need here only be mentioned, 
(i) Service and security against fire. 
In large plants, a large force pump connecting 

21 




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Fig. 914. 

In a case where water is scarce and expensive a cooling 
tower is used (Fig. 9i/4) in connection with the circulating 
system by which the cooling water after passing through the 
condenser is forced to the top of the tower and then released 
and allowed to drip back into the tank from which it is 
drawn. Thus it can be used over and over, little being lost. 

22 



with an ample supply of water in case of fire break- 
ing out, the discharge of which, with its pipes, to 
the various parts of the works, and sufficient number 
of hydrants and ample supply of hose, is a very im- 
portant adjunct. It may be made to do general 
pumping service, at the same time being always 
ready for a fire. 

(j) Automatic drain from the retort. This is 
an arrangement of pipes connecting the drain well 
of the retort to the sewer by which all condensa- 
tions during the operation of steaming shall be car- 
ried to the sewer, thereby keeping the retort as free 
as possible from water. 

It may be arranged to operate automatically by 
means of a steam trap, or it may be operated by the 
operator by means of a valve in case the steam trap 
fails to operate. 

All of these systems must be planned and plainly 
delineated to work together harmoniously, nowhere 
interfering with each other, and each constructed 
so as to do its work properly, and the outlines and 
dimensions put on paper so that the shop men can 
make every piece and put it in its place. 

Ninth — The power required for charging and dis- 
charging the retort, and for moving the tram cars 
in the yard is furnished by a stationary engine. 
By means of a drum and cables supplemented by 
fixed snatch pulleys in different positions, the op- 
eration can be carried several hundred feet each 
way. Two and^ sometimes more of these shifting 
engines are required in a large plant. 

Tenth — Tram-yard tracks. This consists of a sys- 
tem of tram tracks conforming in gauge to the 
tracks in the retort and extending with switches, 
cross-overs, etc., such as the dimensions of the works 
shall require, by which timber is brought from a 
standard railroad yard or from storage piles and 
conveyed to and from the retort, and again dis- 
charged into piles or loaded on cars for reshipment. 
While the gauge of these tracks must be the same 
as that in the retort, yet heavier rails, may be used, 
and 48 to 56 old rails can be utilized. 

23 



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>/eflrti\rG Coil for C/ffosore ThrtH 

/J 03, D/tfUHr TO a^vrem JIF" 

F'IG. 11— HEATING COILS FOR CREOSOTE, CHLORIDE AND TANNIN TANK. 

25 



Eleventh — Loading and unloading platform. 

As the amount of material to be handled is greats 
and the timber is very heavy and unwieldy, every 
care must be taken to reduce this labor to a mini- 
mum. The elevated platform, conforming to the 
height of the floor of a car, has been found a verjr 
great help, the charge from the retort being run 
up an incline on to it and there unloaded into cars 
for outshipment. 

Twelfth — Steam derrick. Where timber and pil- 
ing are treated in connection with cross-ties, and 
the quantity justifies, a traveling steam derrick is 
very useful, especially with long piles and timber. 

Where gondola cars are to be had for outgoing 
ties, the tram loads can be placed in them bodily. 

Thirteenth — ^Tram cars or buggies, on which the 
timber is designed to be treated, or loaded, are com- 
pactly and strongly built, weight from 800 to i,ooa 
pounds each, and are provided with two curved 
arms on each side, conforming to section of the re- 
tort, and have a capacity of from 30 to 45 standard 
cross-ties, as they may be hewn or sawed. With: 
length of tie eight feet, 12 to 14 cars make a charge, 
depending on lensrth of the retort. 

For long timber and piling a car of much the 
same dimensions, but provided with a strong bolster 
turning freely on the center of the tram, instead of 
the two pairs of arms, is used. The timber or pile 
is loaded on two cars and, by means of the bolster, 
the car can turn curves freely in the yard where 
curves are unavoidable in works of any extem 

Fourteenth — Scales for weighing timber. 

As the amount of absorption of the chemicals m 
solution by the timber is of the first importance, any 
means necessary to determine this accurately should 
be emoloyed. The indicator measurements is the 
one of main reliance in determining this, and to 
check this a four-ton platform scale, set in the tram 
track at a convenient point for weighing, is perhaps 
the best means to be devised. On this a tram load 
or a single piece can be weighed, first before treat- 




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ing and aeain after, whereby knowing the weight 
and strength of the solution, the amount of the 
chemical absorbed, can be determined accurately. 

Fifteenth — Buildings. 

Where a plant is to be operated continuously day 
and night, and in all climates and kinds of weather, 
the buildings must necessarily cover and protect the 
machinery and appliances effectually. Ordinarily, 
wooden buildings or wood covered with corrugated 
iron on sides and tar paper, tar and gravel for roof, 
are found best adapted to the purpose. These can 
be made to effectually shelter the works, are cheap, 
and as the plant and its operation are not always 
permanent, this form of building is best adapted to 
easy removal, with little loss, if the necessity comes. 
The buildings particularly required are: 

(a) The building covering the retorts. 

(b) The machinery room, containing all pumps, 
valves and machinery, with the exception of the 
shifting engines in the yard. The machinery must 
be compactly arranged so as to be under the eye 
and hand of the operator. 

(c) The boiler room containing the boilers, feed 
pumps, etc. 

(d) The chloride vat room. 

(e) The storerooms for storage of chemicals. 

(f) Blacksmith shop and repairing room. 

(g) Office. 

(h) Housing for shifting engines. 

Sixteenth — Lighting. 

A small electric plant is almost indispensable. It 
may consist of a small steam engine operated by 
steam from the boilers and a dynamo good for ten 
arc lights of 1600 c. p. or its equivalent, furnishing 
four or five lights outside and any desired number 
of incandescent lights inside. 

A PORTABLE PLANT. 

A portable plant for timber treating in some cases 
will be found both convenient and economical. 
The retort is one of a pair built for the Union 

30 



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Pacific Railway under a patent taken out by W. 
G. Curtis and John D. Isaacs of the Southern 
Pacific Railway Co. The case it is intended to meet 
is where the timber supply is widely dispersed and 
no considerable supply convenient to any one point 
on the line. The cost of treating is no greater than 
at a stationary plant of the same size and the cost 
of removing from one place to another is estimated 
at not over one-third of that of the removing of a 
stationary plant of like dimensions. This is found 
to be about one-fourth to one-third cent per tie, 
exclusive of the removal of the platforms, which are 
left in place to be again used at some future time. 
The retorts are mounted on trucks similar to those 
of a strong freight car and the tanks for the oil 
or solution, the necessary pumps, and the steam 
boilers are all mounted on standard freight flat cars, 
and all is shifted by the disconnection of a few 
connecting pipes. When it is desired to creosote, 
the retorts are supplied with the necessary heating 
coils. 

Three portable plants are now in use on the South- 
ern Pacific Railway, the Union Pacific, the O. R. 
& N. and on the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railway. 

RULES OF OPERATION. 

GENERAL. 

THE STAMPING HAMMER. 

Sec. 12. To enable the track department to keep 
any record of time treated ties are laid and of their 
removal. The hammer here shown is about the di- 
mension of a small spiking hammer and has a figure 
cut in relief on one face. A smart blow on the end 
of each tie impresses a figure deep enough to re- 
main indelibly as long as the end of the tie remains. 
The cost of the hammer is trifling, as the stamping 
can be done in connection with the counting. It is 
best done as soon as the tram car is loaded prepara- 
tory to putting in the charge. 

34 



THE DATING NAIL. 

The Dating nails here shown, suggested by Oc- 
tave Chanute, C. E., are intended to be driven into 
the tie after it has been placed in the track. The 
best place seems to be on the line side of the track, 
say 12 inches from the line of the rail. The cost of 
the nail is approximately 2-10 cent each. 

The main purpose of the nail does not preclude the 
use of the stamping hammer before introducing for 
treatment, which is considered as well worth doing 
even if dating nails are to be used. 

In operations where the plant consists of one, two 
or three retorts, it is usual to start the charges about 
an hour apart, so that the use of compressor and 
vacuum pump will not interfere and can be applied 
to each retort in turn; thus all three retorts can 
be operated by the one machine. If the nlant has 
more than three retorts, say four or six, then a 
second compressor and vacuum pump will be re- 
quired, and the retorts can and should be run in 
pairs. 

Each retort requires its own force or oressure 
pump and its separate system of piping for solution, 
steam and air, so arranged as to serve each retort in 
its turn. 

The details of operation, more specifically given, 
are divided about as follows : 

(a) Preparing the charge and manner of loading 
the timber. 

As it is essential that the steam and the solution, 
each in its turn, shall have free access to all sides 
of the timber (each piece), a space must be left or 
reserved for this, especially for sawed stuff, other- 
wise the operation will be greatly impeded or en- 
tirely defeated. 

A compactly loaded mass of timber will act much 
as if it were still unsawed. This has been exempli- 
fied in the nine-foot retort, where, even with quarter- 
inch iron strips between, the steaming requires from 
three to four times as long a time as that required 
where the pieces are properly separated, and the 

36 







87 



OATJN6 A/AIL FOR T/E^. 



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Fig. 20— dating nail. 
38 



same is true as to pressure on solution. A one-inch 
strip, or an ordinary barrel stave, will do with 
sawed ties. Hewn ties do not need this. 

In loading, the ties should be arranged to con^ 
form to the loading gauge, so that there will be no 
interference in charging, and there firmly chained, 
care being taken to have the load even at the ends 
90 as to allow the inspector easy access for counting 
and stamping. 

The stamping die should be a hammer about the 
weight of a small railroad spike maul, weighing 
three and a half to four pounds, with handle similar 
and with the die full faced and deeply cut (three- 
eighth inch), vertical and not tapering, securing an 
impression deep enough to last as long as the timber 
itself. 

The loaded cars are then assembled to make the 
proper charge, and are then, by means of the shift- 
ing engine, cables and pulleys, drawn into the re- 
tort, the doors closed and sealed, when all is ready 
for: 

(b) Steaming. 

The steam is introduced into the retort, preferably 
at each end and nearly at the bottom. Meanwhile 
the blow-off at the top of the retort is kept open to 
allow the air to escape until the retort is full of 
steam. When the retort is entirely filled, the blow- 
off is closed and the steam is accumulated until it 
has reached a pressure of twenty pounds per square 
inch and there held throughout the entire remaining 
time required — four to six hours. This pressure is 
fixed as the maximum, as the temperature of the 
steam is then at near 250 degrees Fah., about all 
that the timber will bear without scorching and in- 
jury to its fiber. Frequently during the steaming, 
the condensations should be drawn off from the 
retort, by means of the automatic blow-off, to the 
sewer, accelerating the dryness of the steam and 
reducing condensation, and securing greater dryness 
in the timber after the vacuum is drawn. The steam 
is then blown off, being discharged into the air. 




40 











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41 



SUPERHEATED STEAM IN CONNECTION 
WITH TIMBER TREATMENT. 

There can be no doubt as to the utility and econ- 
omy in the use of superheated steam for heating 
the solution or oils used where the steam is used 
in coils, as it expedites the process and saves in fuel. 
It is, however, very questionable whether super- 
heated steam can safely be used where it comes in 
direct contact with the timber, as during the period 
of steaming, as^ the^ temperature is more difficult 
to control, endangering the timber fibre as is not 
possible with saturated steam at the prescribed pres- 
sure of twenty pounds. It has been observed, where 
it is so used, that the timber is often burned. 

TEMPERATURE IN THE VARIOUS SOLU- 
TIONS. 
( Thermometers. ) 

It is generally conceded that the temperature at 
which the various solutions are applied is important 
in that a quite high temperature conduces to more 
prompt chemical action and perfect combination. To 
more perfectly control this, the Fahrenheit thermom- 
eter is applied both to the retorts and to the solu- 
tion reservoirs or tanks. 

The drawing herewith shows the usual method of 
attaching the thermometer to the retorts. There is 
no way by which more perfect connection can be 
made with the contents of the retort and the indi- 
cated temperature will be somewhat below the actual 
mean of the reservoirs until after long exposure. 
The most important function is to measure the tem- 
perature of solution or oils as with the steam pres- 
sure gauge will give the heat of the steam suffi- 
ciently close. A few observations will give the cor- 
rection to be added, approximately at least. In any 
case the approximate will be a fair guide in ab- 
sence of any means of obtaining exact readings. 

(c) The vacuum. 

When the steam is fully blown off the retort 

42 



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should be allowed to cool for a little time, the cir- 
culating water should be started through the surface 
condenser and allowed to flow, insuring the greatest 
degree of cold surface to the hot vapors from the 
retort before the vacuum pump is started, thus pre- 
venting these hot vapors from injuring the valves of 
the pump. 

In a one or two retort plant, one of the force 
pumps can be utilized for pumping the circulating 
water; but in a large plant, either the service and 
fire pump will answer, or a special pump will be 
necessary. 

Thus having cooled the condenser, the vacuum i«5 
drawn, raising it as fast as is practicable to 20 at: 
26 inches, and there holding it for half an hour 01: 
more, if desired. If the hot-well catching the con- 
densation fills so that the contents are thrown oif 
through the vacuum pump, and it is desired to 
measure it, resort must be had to an auxiliary res- 
ervoir, so arranged as to receive the surplus when 
necessary. The practicability of measuring these 
condensations with a view to determine the amount 
of sap extracted from the timber, is a matter of 
doubt, and will be noticed further on. 

A marked advantage has been secured in treating 
obdurate timber (dense, wet or green), by interpos- 
ing a vacuum at an intermediate time during the 
steaming, blowing off the latter, drawing a vacuum 
and again introducing the steam while the vacuum 
is still held. This idea is worth investigating when 
opportunity offers. 

(d) Introducing the chloride solution. 

The vacuum having been on for sufficient time, it 
is still held, and the valve in the solution pipe is 
opened and the solution allowed to flow in, which 
it does very rapidly by the help of the vacuum, until 
the retort is entirely filled, the air pipe being opened 
to allow the escape of the remaining air in the re- 
tort and then closed. 

The solution should be heated from 80 to 100 de- 
grees Fah. before introduced, as it is found that the 

44 







45 




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~V^-iv^i- -4-57X-4 ^^1175 



46 



chloride is held best in suspension at about that 
temperature. 

When the retort is filled and the air pipe closed, 
the force or pressure pump is at once started and the 
pressure raised to lOO pounds per square inch, which 
should be done in a very short time, and there held 
for such time as shall be judged best to meet the 
nature of the timber. 

A measuring vat, in which the estimated quantity 
of solution that the charge should receive is held, 
is recommended by some as a good thing, as, by 
attaching the suction of the pressure pump to the 
vat and running it until the vat is exhausted, the 
timber will have absorbed the proper amount of the 
solution. 

Careful reading of the indicator about the time 
the pressure from the pump begins, and then again 
at times during which pressure remains, will give a 
very close measurement of the amount absorbed 
during that time, but of course there is no means 
of determining how much was absorbed before 
pressure was secured. The indicator reading before 
introducing and again after forcing back, gives the 
most accurate measurement possible, except, per- 
haps, the weighing before and after. 

(e) Returning the chloride solution to its re- 
ceptacle is the next move, and is accomplished by 
means of the air compressor by which air is forced 
into the retort. When it is quite cleared the valve 
in the main solution pipe is closed, and the blow- 
back is used to clear the retort of the last remnant 
of solution, which is carried to its proper tub by an 
overhead pipe. 

(f) Introduction of the tannin solution. 

As soon as the chloride solution has been cleared 
from the retort, the tannin solution is introduced, 
put under pressure and so held for the desired pe- 
riod, and forced back to its receptacle in every re- 
spect as with the chloride, except that the time held 
under the pressure of lOO pounds need not be so 
long, as the action of the tannin is quite superficial. 

47 



Timber treftliitg Chart. 



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Fig. 27— original diagram of runs (las vegas, 1885). 



^8 



This completes the operation. The doors being 
opened, the chars^e is removed from the retort. 
The next charge being prepared is run in, thQ doors 
are closed, and the whole program is repeated. A 
charge takes from lO to 12 hours. 

RULES FOR MIXING CHEMICALS. 

ZINC-TANNIN OR WELLHOUSE PROCESS. 

CHEMICALS USED. 

Chloride of Zinc. (ZncL.) 

Sec. 13. The principal antiseptic agent used in 
this process is the chloride of zinc. The chloride 
can be made on the ground by the combination of 
hydrochloric acid (muriatic) with common metallic 
zinc, or the commercial product in the form of a 
salt furnished in large drums or rolls protected by 
a covering of thin sheet iron. There is but little 
difference in the cost, the difference being in favor 
of the commercial article. 

Emoirically, the hydrochloric acid (HcU) and 
the zinc spelter (Zn) combines about as follows : 
350 lbs., 18 per cent acid to 100 lbs. of the spelter 
will produce 409 lbs. of 45 per cent ZncU, equal to 
about 185 lbs. pure chloride of zinc. 

With acid at ij^ cents and zinc at 56-10 cents 
would be 5 87-100 cents per lb. pure chloride of zinc. 
The fused chloride, 98 per cent pure, is now sold for 
four cents, so that at the above price for the acid 
and the spelter it is better to use the fused chloride, 
at considerable saving in freight as well as in the 
convenience in its use. 

(c) The commercial chloride being most readily 
obtained and more convenient to use, is being P"en- 
erally used, hence, in the rules here given, the com- 
mercial chloride will be understood. 

(d) The impurities in the salt should not exceed 
three per cent in weight, and are, with one excep- 
tion, quite harmless, except as an impurity. The 
presence of a small amount of iron, however, say 
one-half of one per cent, should condemn it, as the 

49 




50 



iron neutralizes the chloride and at the same time 
is said to injure the wood fiber. 

(e) The commercial salt will often have a^ small 
amount of free, uncombined acid, which is de- 
structive to wood fiber if present in any great 
amount, hence the dissolving as well as the storage 
vat should contain a liberal allowance of the zinc 
blocks to take it up, and the time allowed for its 
action should be as extended as possible. 

(f) A graphic table of weight and specific grav- 
ity of chloride of zinc is here given, which gives 
the data on which the table for quantities, in Table 
^*B," is computed. While it is not claimed to be 
exact, yet it gives a sufficiently close approximation 
and serves the purpose. It is the summing up of 
numerous trials. 

PREPARATION OF CHEMICALS FOR USE. 

Sec. 14. The chloride of zinc. 

(a) Dissolving: The fused chloride (commer- 
cial) should be dissolved into stock solution, a con- 
centrated solution from 35 to 50 per cent strong, 
some little time before used, say 24 hours if prac- 
ticable, so that it shall be thoroughly dissolved, and 
that any free acid it may contain will have time to 
be taken up by the spelter (zinc) kept in the dis- 
solving vat for that purpose. 

The drums or rolls of fused chloride should then 
be divested of the iron covering, weighed, and if 
the works are provided with a trolley carrier, be 
placed bodily in the dissolving vat. or in absence 
of the trolley, they should be broken into smaller 
fragments and dropped from planks placed over 
the vat, which should have been previously partially 
filled with water. In placing the pieces in the vat, 
care must be taken that the lead lining of the vat 
be not injured. 

(b) The following will guide as to the amount 
of the salt to be weighed in, and as to the amount 
of water for dissolving. First fill vat about half 

51 





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52 



full, and then add the chloride and fill with water 
to the height indicated: 

For 35 per cent stock solution — 

6,296 pounds salt, and fill to 2.2 vertical feet. 
For 40 per cent — 

7,865 pounds salt, and fill to 2.3 vertical feet. 
For 45 per cent — 

9,285 pounds salt, and fill to 2.3 vertical feet. 
For 50 per cent — 

10,860 pounds salt, and fill to 2.3 vertical feet. 

(c) This computation is based upon a mixing 
vat ten feet square and two and one-half feet deep, 
and, being lead lined with half-inch sheet lead, has 
approximately an area of 99.4 square feet. 

The above is a fair guide, remembering that the 
exact amount of the salt or the resulting strength 
of solution is not essential, as any intermediate 
strength can be used by the same means of com- 
putation. 

A solution of from 40 to 50 per cent is about the 
most convenient. 

(d) When this stock solution is well neutralized 
and dissolved, it is drawn off into the storage vat, 
a lead-lined vat the same as the mixing vat, except 
in dimensions. This vat is provided with a steam 
ejector by which the concentrated stock solution is 
forced into the solution tub or tank through a dis- 
charge pipe passing over the top and there dis- 
charging. 

PREPARATION OF DILUTED TUB SOLU- 
TION. 
Sec. 15. (a) Assuming the size of the storage vat 
to be 8 by 12 feet, area being 96 feet, and the solution 
tub beinp- 30 feet in diameter, wood and iron bound, 
with a mean area of 664 square feet, then we have 
for putting up the stock chloride from storage vat 
to the diluted solution tub. Table "B," giving the 
number of cubic feet of stock solution for each tub 
foot required, hence by multiplying this by the 
number of tub feet to be charged, and dividing the 

53 



result by the area of the storage vat (96 sq. ft), 
gives the vertical feet to put up. 

Dilution of Chloride Solution. 

(b) To make up the first tub of solution, say two 
per cent strong, fill solution tub with water to, say 
17 feet, the tub being 20 feet deep, each tub foot be- 
ing equal to 664 cubic feet (mean area of tub) by 17 
vertical feet, equal 11,288 cu, ft. multiplied by 62.3 
lbs. (weight of cu. ft. of water) equals 703,242 lbs. 
water. 

Then as 98 per cent of water is to the two per 
cent of chloride, so is 703,242 lbs. of water to 14,352 
lbs. pure chloride required. 

Then for cubic feet in volume of the two per cent 
chloride we have: Water, 703,242 lbs., which divide 
by 62.3 lbs. equals 11,288 cu. ft., and chloride, 14,352 
lbs., which divide by 200.0 lbs., equals 71.76, making 
total of 11,359.76 cubic feet, or about 17.2 vertical or 
tub feet. 

DETERMINING STRENGTH OF CHLORIDE 
SOLUTION. 

(c) No more satisfactory means have been found 
for testing the strength of the chloride solution than 
the Beaume Hydrometer, using the coarse hydro- 
meter, one to sixty degrees for the concentrated and 
the fine hydrometer, one to six degrees, divided to 
i-ioth degree, for the highly diluted solutions. In 
the heavier solutions, say 30 to 60 degrees, the influ- 
ence of temperature is small, so that no account need 
be made for it, but with that highly diluted it is 
necessary to define the effect of temperature very 
carefully to get true measurement of strength. 

To meet this, the table (A), Figs. 32, 33 and 34, 
has been prepared by means of empiric tests sub- 
jected to a law of curve developed by trial, by which 
a close approximation has been made. Comparison 
of calculated quantities used in one month's run, 
with the actual quantity of stock used, has served 
to confirm the exactness of the tables. 

54 



Figs. 30 and 31 give the same graphically, the 
curves described being true spirals both as to the 
variation under increased heat and for the points at 
which the per cent of strength agrees with the de- 
grees Beaume. 

The use of the hydrometer is impracticable with 
the glue and the tannin solution^^ either being about 
the same specific gravity as water. 

WATER FOR DILUTION. 

Sec. 16. It is here proper to notice the character 
of the water to be used in this connection in making 
up the chloride solution. 

In carrying through the process, a considerable 
quantity of water, variously estimated at 15 to 25 
thousand gallons per day per retort, including the 
supply for steam and circulating purposes as well, 
is used. Pure water is very desirable and its quan- 
tity is important, for, should it be bounteous, much 
may be saved in water saving appliances. There are 
some locations where it is desirable to locate works 
that the quantity is meager and the quality is poor. 

GELATINE (Glue). 

Sec. 17. Commercial glue of good quality con* 
tains the gelatine which, under the Wellhouse proc- 
ess, forms a part of the plugging up substance by 
its combination with the tannin. Glues vary con- 
siderably in the amount of gelatine contained, but 
60 per cent is supposed to be a fair estimate for a 
good commercial article. 

(a) The per cent in weight of water at 60 degrees 
Fah. that any glue will absorb, is said to be about 
the best test of quality. A first-class glue, it is 
said, will absorb 13 parts of water to i of glue, but 
it is found that some of the best cabinet glues will 
not take over 5 or 6 in the 24 hours' test. 

(b) It has been, and now is, the practice to use 
a solution in combination with the chloride consist- 
ing of one-half of one per cent of the total in glue. 

55 



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58 



The tannin solution, containing the same amount of 
tannin extract which will combine in about equal 
parts, forming with the glue the leathery substance 
in the wood pores. 

(c) The specific gravity of a fair glue should be, 
when perfectly dry, about 1.42, and should readily 
take six times its weight of water when immersed 
in it at 60 degrees Fah. for 24 hours. 

To determine the specific gravity of any sample 
of glue, take a graduated tube, say a 200 c. cm. 
measure. First put in 100 c. cm. water, then weigh 
out one ounce of the dry glue and drop it into the 
tube, noting, immediately, the point to which the 
water is raised by the addition of the glue. The 
difference in the height of the water in the tube be- 
fore and after adding the glue, will be the volume 
of the one ounce of glue in cubic centimeters, from 
which its weight and specific gravity can at once 
be computed. 

(d) Then to determine the amount of water it 
will absorb, add to the above another 100 c. cm. of 
water, place it in a place where the temperature is 
constant ^t 60 degrees Fah. for 24 hours, when the 
proportion of water unabsorbed will appear clearly 
to the eye. Note this in c. cm. and divide by the 
whole 200 c. cm. of water, thus determining the 
proportion absorbed. 

(e) In a one-half of one per cent solution of 
glue, the specific gravity will be inappreciably greater 
than pure water, so that the only means of deter- 
mining its strength is to carefully weigh in the dry 
glue whenever the solution is renewed, the quantity 
of glue being always the one-half of one per cent 
by weight of water charged with the glue, and com- 
puted in the same ways as for the chloride solu- 
tion. 

(f) It is usual, on account of impurities in the 
glue, to discount these by putting in an excess, say 
where 100 pounds of tannin is called for, use no 
pounds of glue. While it is understood that the 
glue and the tannin combine in about equal quanti- 

59 



ties, yet it is safe to have a slight excess of the for- 
mer, for the reason that if glue should be entirely or 
even partially absent there would be no action by 
the tannin, and it would s^o back into the solution 
tub as strong as before used. In any case, if suffi- 
cient glue is not present, full action of the tannin 
cannot be expected. 

To determine the relative value of glues offered 
for use in the Wellhouse or Zinc Tannin process: 

(g) First prepare a four per cent solution of hemlock 
extract of known strength (25 per cent to 27 per 
cent), by putting one ounce of extract into twelve 
ounces of pure water. Then treat one ounce of the 
prepared glue, making this also four per cent strong. 
The glue and water being brought to near a boil, 
say 175 to 180 degrees Fah. 

Take seven test tubes ^ inch by 6 inches, placed 
in a rack for convenience in filling and for observa- 
tion. Then with a 25 c. cm. measuring tube, put into 
the right-hand tube seven c. cm. of the glue solu- 
tion; into the second, eight c. cm., and so on until 
they are all served. Then take the tannin solution 
in the same way and like quantities, except that the 
left-hand tube is to receive the c. cm. of the tannin, 
and so on, increasing toward the right. Thus it will 
be seen that the fourth tube will have the same 
quantity of each, the glue and the tannin, and those 
on each hand having varying proportions. The so- 
lution should be freshly made and used while quite 
warm and each tube well shaken when adding the 
tannin to the glue in the tubes. Ordinarily it is 
desirable that the glue be such as will combine 
with an equal quantity of the tannin. Let the set 
of tubes stand in any safe place for an hour or two 
and the result in the tubes will be manifest to the 
observer, and the lesson easily understood. 

GELATINE. 

(Extract from letter of G. M. Hyams, chemist, to 
Chas. Dyer, July 7, 1889. relative to the use of glue 
in timber treating.) 

60 



In regard to the preserving process, from my own 
experiments and analyses, I have become convinced 
that the quantity of organic acids in the pine wood 
of our western (Southwestern) country has been 
much overestimated. Now it is to be neutralized; 
these acids that some albumenoid^ substance, such 
as glue, has to be added to the timber before in- 
jecting chloride of zinc. But as this glue, if left in 
the pores of the timber, would itself decay, it in 
turn has to be neutralized, and for this purpose 
tannin is added. If now we can lessen the quantity 
of glue to be added, we also decrease the amount of 
tannin to be used, and this makes a double saving. 

In order to find out the minimum, quantity of glue 
necessary, I have saturated timber in small pieces 
with glue and then determined by appropriate meth- 
ods the excess from my results. I find that the 
quantity is only about one-fourth that ordinarily 
recommended. The most important fact, however, 
of this branch of the subject is the quality of the 
glue used, as we are seekinor here the soluble al- 
buminoid principle for a chemical reaction, namely, 
the coagulation of the vegetable acids of the wood. 
We must seek for a different test in our glue than 
merely adhesion (adhesiveness). To illustrate my 
meaning — in pieces from the same stick of timber 
I^ have used the following quantities for the same 
size: 

Glue costing 5c. 8c. 12c 17c blood alb. pure alb. 

Took 15grs. llgrs. 4 grs. 1.6 grs. 1.1 grs. 0.3 gr. 

You will then readily see that, provided an easily 
soluble glue costing 17 cents is used, it is really 
much cheaper than a 5-cent article, which would 
not be the case if we looked to its adhesive qualities 
only. 

So-called liquid glue is a good illustration also. 
I believe you have tried this and found it not to be 
economical. The reason is simply that to render it 
soluble and liquid, it has to be treated chemically in 
a way which destroys the neutralizing qualities of 
the albumen and practically unfits it for our pur- 

61 



pose. I am quite sure (confident) that with the 
right kind of glue a saving of 20 per cent can be 
accomplished. 

PENETRATION OF GLUE. 

The tannin and glue chiefly goes into the ends. 
At the Chicago works the absorotion of each varies 
from 0.017 to 0.034 cubic feet per tie, or i to 2 Its. 
per tie (lit. eq. .035 cu. ft.), so that the solution in- 
jected would be 100 times enough to cover the whole 
surface 1-32 inch thick. But when the water evap- 
orates we have left only the percentage of leatheroid, 
say I to 2 per cent, which would cover surface 1-32 
to 2-32 inch. 

Chicago, Dec. 3, 1900. O. Chanute. 

TANNIN EXTRACT. 

Sec. 18. The tannin extract of hemlock bark is 
mostly used in this process, containing from 15 to 
30 per cent of tannic acid, presumably about a safe 
mean of 22 per cent. 

(a) As the amount of active properties in the 
combination, both as to the glue and the tannin, 
long practice has taught that they should be used 
in about equal quantities. As the glue is first ab- 
sorbed, and the tannin following neutralizes so much 
of the glue as it may reach, the overplus of the 
tannin being carried back with the returned solu- 
tion, there is no waste by having the tannin solution 
markedly stronger than the prescribed one-half of 
one per cent. The strength of the tub solution of 
tannin should be tested from time to time by com- 
parison of its action on a reagent, as will be ex- 
plained later on. 

(b) As regards the penetration of the tannin 
into the timber, although the tannin solution is com- 
plete, that is, the acid is held in complete suspen- 
sion and will go wherever the water will go, yet its 
action is and must be largely superficial from the 
fact that it has no such aid or favorable conditions 



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64 



as does the chloride solution. That there is a por- 
tion of the glue not reached by it is a matter of 
speculation, and it is probable that owing to the 
viscosity of the glue its action is also largely super- 
ficial as well. Be this true, it is what it should be. 

(c) The hemlock bark extract carrying the tan- 
nic acid is of a reddish brown color, hard when 
cold, but when under temperature of lOO degrees 
Fah. or over is the consistency of thin molasses 
and flows freely. 

Its specific gravity is about 1.22, but when a half 
of one per cent solution, there is no appreciable 
excess over pure water. 

(d) The commercial extract is put into barrels 
holding about five hundred pounds and over, four 
or five barrels usually making a batch. 

To thoroughly dissolve, a quantity of water is 
added and a moderate amount of steam is turned 
in by means of a small steam pipe in the tub, by 
which the extract is thoroughly agitated and mod- 
erately heated, after which additional water can be 
added, so that some fixed depth from the mixing 
tub will equal the quantity of tannin needed for 
each tub foot in the tannin solution tub. 

(e) When tannin and glue are combined the 
mixture, after time is given for the combination of 
the two, and all unassimilated portions are washed 
out, and the residuum dried, gives a dark-brown, 
semi-transparent substance that is quite hard and 
brittle. It is insolvent in water and incombustible, 
simply charring to a cinder much as would be with 
charred leather. Under the microscope it has the 
appearance of an opaque resin, and a similar sub- 
stance by appearance is found in the sap cells of 
the treated timber, not in untreated timber. 

Sec. 19. Alkaline waters usually found in the 
western plains and mountains is, while undesirable, 
yet not unusable, as while the effect is to some 
extent deleterious, yet not to the extent that would 
forbid its use. One of the effects is its liability to 
combine with the zinc chloride, by which a fraction 

65 



of the zinc is thrown down, reducing its effectiveness 
to the extent of such combination. 

Another effect of the alkaline water is to affect 
the specific gravity for v/hich allowance must be 
made, the amount to be determined by a comparison 
with^ distilled water at 60 degrees Fah. and sub- 
tracting the difference from the hydrometric reading 
in testing tub solution. 

CHARACTER OF THE WORK AND AP- 
PLIANCES. 

Sec. 20. The business of timber treating is not 
new, neither has it been successfully employed in all 
cases. It has had to pass through the various stages 
of development like the manufacture of steel, Port- 
land cement and other lines of manufacture, with its 
modicum of failures and successes. Now, when 
success is to some extent attained, it is believed that 
the exercise of knowledge and intelligence is the 
only means by which recurrent failure will be 
avoided. This fact cannot be too deeply impressed; 
also that a thorough knowledge of the practical part 
of the business, the movements of the process and 
the nature of the agent used, and a thorough train- 
ing in the practical handling of the works are ab- 
solutely necessary to good results. In the operator, 
to all this must be added a determined t-)urpose to 
enforce all rules and requirements, otherwise fail- 
ure will be almost sure and very expensive. 

Sec. 21. To give the operator a fair show to 
carry the work properly, his convenience and the 
efficiency of his force, as well as the economical 
operation of the work, must be considered and care- 
fully provided for. 

Every part of the works should be easy of access 
and compactly arranged so as to be under the eye 
and hand of the operator. 

Every part should be substantially built so that 
repairs will be infrequent. 

Ample store houses and storage for all material 

66 



and stock to be used, as well as a good stock on 
hand, should be provided. 

Each machine, pump, engine, boiler, should be 
selected to perform the kind and quantity of work 
that is expected from it, as the failure of any one 
to perform its functions promptly and properly en- 
tails a loss of time for the plant and its whole force. 
Where so much capital is involved, it is worth while 
to attend to these considerations at the start. 

INSTALLATION. 

Sec. 22. When the retort and all the machinery 
are in place and the works generally in condition to 
commence operation, the following preparatory steps 
are necessary to prevent confusion and to secure 
the data that is necessary for future computations 
and operation. 

All tanks, reservoirs, tubs and vats should be 
filled with water so as to cause the wood to swell 
to tightness; the steam pipes, with steam and all 
other pipes, including the retort, with water, so that 
all leakage can be discovered and cured and that 
everything be permanently and reliably tight, 150 
lbs. cold water pressure to be put on as final test. 

The pumps and machinery should be connected 
and steam put on and everything tested as to its 
running promptly and in good order. 

The retort door should be carefully adjusted so 
that the gland will correspond exactly with the pack- 
ing groove in the retort flange and the door swing 
freely and truly on its hinges; that the locking 
levers radiate truly from the center and that the 
"y bolts be well adjusted, so that, in closing the 
door, all the levers will come to bearing at the 
same time. 

VOLUME OF RETORT. 

Sec. 23. In computing the amount of absorption, 
the amount of timber, etc., in volume, it is necessary 
to know exactly how much the retort holds. 

Close the retort, note the indicator readinp- on 

67 



the solution tub, then open the main valve and en- 
tirely fill the retort with the water, again reading 
the indicator, and the vertical feet used by the area 
of the tub will be the volume of the retort. It would 
be well to include such number of tram cars as are 
used in a charge of ties, as this will be used in case 
of ties at all times. This, if carefully done, is more 
exact than any computation that could be made. 

PREPARING THE CHEMICALS. 

Sec. 24. Before proceeding to start the works, 
each of the chemicals must be prepared in such 
quantities as will keep on hand a stock sufficient to 
prevent delay in the work. Each solution tub should 
be filled to near its full capacity with a solution of 
proper strength, ready for instant use. For this part 
of the work a carefully instructed assistant should 
be employed and held responsible for the proper 
handling and mixing, and also that sufficient stock 
is held ready for use. 

CHLORIDE OF ZINC. 

Sec. 25. The preparation of the stock solution 
and its dilution in the solution tub is fully treated in 
sections 17 and 19, so that it is only necessary here 
to notice the method by which the stock of solution 
is kept up, both in quantity and strength, by more 
or less frequent renewals. If three retorts are sup- 
plied from a 30-foot tub there will be required some- 
thing like ten tub feet daily, hence this many tub 
feet should be supplied each day. This operation 
consists of pumping so many feet of water into the 
tub and immediately adding the required quantity 
of the chloride as indicated in Figures 30 and 31, 
multiplying this by the number of tub feet put up. 

For example, suppose that 8^ tub feet is wanted 
and the water has been put up, the strength to be 
2^ per cent and the stock solution is 40 per cent 
strong. We see by table "B" that it requires 30.173 
cubic feet of stock solution to bring each tub foot 



up to 25^ per cent, then 8^x30.173 equal 256.47 
cubic feet of stock solution. Divide this by area of 
storage vat (96 sq. ft.) will give 2.67 vertical feet 
of the 40 per cent chloride to be put up. 

Sec. 26. If more than three retorts are operated, 
an additional storage vat or a larger one will be 
necessary, as the above indicates very nearly the 
capacity of one of the size indicated, and another 
solution tub will be necessary. 

Sec. 27. As before indicated, the solution should 
be tested by means of the fine Beaume hydrometer 
to check the strength, and should it, after being 
well agitated, be found too strong or too weak, then 
addition of water in the former or chloride in the 
latter case is required, the amount of each to be 
computed as before. The deficit in either case 
will be proportional as the per cent. Table "B" 
contains quantities for an error of one-quarter of 
one per cent, which saves trouble sometimes, and 
is near enough for most cases. 

Sec. 28. The matter of monthlv stock will be now 
noticed as the same computation comes in here. 
At the starting of the works, or at the beginning of 
each month, there is a certain amount of stock in 
the ware house and perhaps more arriving. To 
keep a proper account it is necessary to know how 
much stock has been used in the month, or perhaps 
in a separate lot of timber, hence the stock account 
should show just how much is on hand at any mo- 
ment. ^ This will consist of stock in warehouse, 
stock in dissolving vats, in storage vat and also in 
the solution tub, and, knowing the strength of each, 
the whole can be summed up as if it was still in the 
original package. 

The simple rule for solution anywhere near two 
per cent will be to call each cubic foot equal to 
63.4 lbs. Multiplying this by the total number of 
cubic feet in the tub and again by the hydrometric 
strength,^ will give the number of pounds pure 
chloride in the solution tub. For mixing and storage 
vats use table "B." 



GELATINE. 

Sec. 29. Resuming the consideration of glue from 
Sec. 17, we will take up its preparation with refer- 
ence to its immediate use at the works. Glue comes 
to the works in barrels of 250 lbs. or thereabout, and 
is dissolved in a small tank or dissolving tub into 
which some water has been put. The packages first 
being weighed, then broken, and after turning the 
glue into the tub the empty barrel is weighed and 
the net amount of glue noted. 

Four or five barrels can be used at one time, 
filling the tub with water, so that the glue be well 
covered and left to soak for as long a time as the 
exigencies of the work will allow; preferably 24 
hours. A little steam is then applied so as to render 
the glue homogeneous, adding further amount of 
water to bring up the volume so that some fixed 
measure will indicate how much to throw up for 
each tub foot of the solution. 

If a tub foot contains 664 cubic feet of chloride 
solution, the weight of which is 63.4 lbs., then there 
will be a total weight of 42,098 lbs., of which one- 
half of one per cent would be 210.5 Ihs. of glue re- 
quired for each tub foot. But remembering that in 
Sec. 17 ten per cent is to be added, brings the 
amount per tub foot to 230 lbs. 

Dividing the amount of glue put into the dissolv- 
ing tub by 230 lbs., will give the number of tub feet 
that it will supply with the required per cent. 

The strength of the glue, whether mixed with the 
chloride or used separately, is supposed to remain 
constant, only needing new supply in proportion to 
the water added in keeping up the stock of solution. 

TANNIN. 

Sec. 30. The tannin being applied separately and 
being the last application is prepared in its separate 
mixing tub or vat and used from there by means 
of the same ejector as the glue, diluting it in the 
tannin solution tub in like manner to the glue. 

70 



The tannin solution is absorbed to a very much 
less degree than the chloride (usually only about 
one-tenth in volume), owing to the timber having 
already been well impregnated and to the less favor- 
able condition for absorption. The tannin solution 
actually loses much more of its tannic acid than is 
contained in the amount of absorption of the charge, 
it being remembered that some twenty times the 
amount absorbed has been in contact with the charge 
with its quota of glue, and therefore is depleted to 
the extent of the tannin needed to neutralize the 
glue, therefore the following: Rule for keeping up 
the strength of the tannic solution: 

"To the amount in volume absorbed add the 
amount of chloride solution absorbed ; to the sum of 
these add tannin equal to one-half of one per cent 
in weight of tannin extract." 

COMPUTATIONS. 

DURING OPERATIONS. 

Sec. 31. During the operations of the works it 
is necessary to know how much timber there is in 
the charge, how much of each solution has gone 
into it, etc., so as to be able to know that the work 
is being properly done and that accurate accounts 
may be kept of the amount of chemicals used. To 
do this, the volume of the retort should be accu- 
rately taken as before noticed. (Sec. 23), and the 
various solution tubs should be provided with accu- 
rate gauges, by means of which the operator can 
note the amount in the tub before starting, at various 
periods between and at the close of the operation. 

These gauges should consist of a graduated board 
divided into feet and tenths, a good float on the 
solution in the tub and an indicator weight or 
pointer working freely by means of a cord up and 
down the graduated face of the indicator board. 
This indicator should be placed where it will be in 
plain sight of the operator and should be lighted at 
night so as to be easily read. 

71 




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75 



VOLUME OF TIMBER. 

Sec. S2. To compute the volume of the timber in 
the charge : Take the lowest reading of the chloride 
indicator from the reading after the solution is 
fully forced back. This difference is the number of 
tub feet that was in the retort after absorption is 
completed, hence, when reduced to cubic feet, will 
be the number of cubic feet outside the charge, and 
taking this from the known volume of the retort, 
the remainder will be the volume of the charge in 
cubic feet of timber 

ABSORPTION OF CHLORIDE, TANNIN OR 
GLUE. 

Sec. ss. Take the indicator reading after com- 
pleting forcing back from the reading at commenc- 
ing, the remainder will be the tub feet of solution 
absorbed. Reduce this to cubic feet, multiply it by 
63.4 lbs. (close approximate weight per cubic foot), 
which gives the number of pounds solution absorbed 
by the charge. Then again to determine the number 
of pounds pure chloride, multiply this by the per 
cent of strength of the solution (hydrometric, say 
.02 or .025, as the case may be), the product is the 
number of pounds pure chloride absorbed by the 
charge. 

Then, again, divide this by the total number of 
cubic feet in the charge as before found, and the 
result will be the pounds or fraction of a pound of 
pure chloride per cubic foot of timber. 

The same rule applies to absorption of tannin and 
also glue where it is applied separately from the 
chloride, only different in the last multiplier, which 
is .005 or one-half of one per cent. 

ABSORPTION BY VOLUME. 

Sec. 34. A very useful and instructive test of tim- 
ber as to its adaptability to receive treatment is de- 
termined by its ability to absorb the solution. This 

76 




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77 



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Fig. 39— operator's report. 
78 



is found by dividing the number of cubic feet of 
solution absorbed by the number of cubic feet of 
timber in the charge. 

RECORD OF ROUTINE WORK. 

Sec. 35. To have a complete record of the oper- 
ation a blank form should be provided for the oper- 
ator to record every move, the directing column 
being printed on the right hand with any convenient 
number of columns in blank arranged to the left, say 
six for the proper entries in ink, each blank column 
to receive the record of one run. 

The items to be entered are as follows : Run 
Number; Retort Number; Commenced steaming; 
Twenty pounds indicated (time) ; Blow off (time) ; 
Commence vacuum (time) ; Twenty-five inches indi- 
cated (time) ; Indicator chloride tank (feet and 
tenths) ; Chloride introduced (time) ; 100 lbs. pres- 
sure indicated (time) ; Lowest point indicator (feet 
and tenths) ; Started forcing back (time) ; Com- 
pleted forcing back (time) ; Indicator chloride tank 
(feet and tenths) ; Indicator glue tank (feet and 
tenths) ; Introduce glue (time) ; Force back glue 
(time) ; Indicator glue tank (feet and tenths) ; In- 
dicator tannin tank (feet and tenths) ; Introduce 
tannin (time) ; Force back tannin (time) ; Indicator 
tannin (feet and tenths). 

Number of ties; Cubic feet of timber in run 
(computed) ; Absorption of chloride in vol. per 
cent (computed); Strength of chloride solution (per 
cent hydrometric); Absorption pure chloride to cubic 
foot of timber in lbs. Time consumed in run (hours); 
time consumed in shift; kind of timber treated. 

On left of last column should be date, temperature 
of solution when tested, hydrometric reading and 
signature of operator. 

With such a report filled out for each and every 
run, departure from the prescribed routine cannot 
be concealed, but will be apparent. 

While the requirements above say feet and tenths, 

79 



it is possible with care to read the indicator to hun- 
dredths of a foot, and this should be done. 

MEASURING SAPS EXTRACTED. 

Sec. 36. Recurring to the practicability of meas- 
uring or determining the actual amount of saps 
extracted from the timber with any degree of 
accuracy is doubted. It is found that very dry tim- 
ber, after being steamed, is invariably heavier if 
withdrawn at end of the vacuum than when intro- 
duced, showing that the timber has absorbed a 
greater amount of moisture than replaces the saps 
extracted. On the other hand, very green or water- 
logged timber will be markedlv lighter, the only 
conclusion we can draw is that more moisture has 
been withdrawn than went in in the form of con- 
densed steam, but how much sap came out or how 
much condensed steam passed in and remains in the 
timber is impossible to tell. The fact of the matter 
is that during the process of steaming large amounts 
of the saps are blown out with the condensed steam 
in keeping the retort clear of condensations, the 
quantity being of such amount as to load the out- 
flowing water highly with the juices of the timber. 
This is entirely outside of that collected by the hot 
well, and of much greater volume. 

KIND OF TIMBER AND CONDITION. 

Sec. 2>7' The soft and open grained timbers, such 
as the southern lowland pine and the mountain 
pines of the west, have been submitted to treatment 
with a high degree of success. The life of these 
pines are, when laid without treatment, from three 
to four and one-half years when cut from young 
growing timber in the form of pole ties. Later, 
hemlock, tamarack and even cottonwood have 
been used with good result, the life when treated 
by the Wellhouse process being prolonged very 
much. While sufficient record as to the relative life 

80 



riMBER TREATING PLANT. 
MONTHLY REPORT OF TIE AND TIMBER TREATIMG. 



WOMTH EmDIK» 










\3 
























N»««rR «, «.>«, «.„P TotAi«uM8.«orT,es r«««» 


















"^ 
















































•• •• - 




































































































































COST OF TFeCATMENT. ^^^^ 

ChcmicaLs 


Crs. 


DoLS 


CT3 




Zinc ^ lbs (9 — en - ^ 
























































































Fu«i«No suPFLies 






















Coal r«Nn ^^ _^ 




















Oil ^md fnii'DLir^ ^ 


































^ 






















— COST PER TIE-. 












































Flirl. 






















Swtreuw^j su^pl.« A m.^.c. ..,..,. 












































4VCM6f ABSSKPr/«W or line CHLOniVC r/V tfii; pr-n n/;f./- r<>-^^ 












































" Tivl..« prR T/E int 












































Ave/iAte riruc chak^es tjtHE sreAMrn 
























































































EjT(A1*TfD T'/Hf TIMBr« WAS CUT 0£FOKS TRCAT/Me 








































W^s tu«8#/« 4Afc r,tt (.KisH OR eer/cHi^Lvi v/ir/z. sifM owso. li.i.i(, Mr ^ARiAT,or> fhsm usual Mernoos /,sto p«s»o« 
lACUUM on tiUMBeir or si^Lun^M-ir 

















Fig. 40— monthly report. 



81 



c 




in each case has not been kept, yet it is presumed 
that it would be found to be at least double, some 
estimating it at three times. 

In the case of heart timber that is sound and well 
matured the life can be safely placed at 50 per cent 
higher, as heart timber is more lasting on account 
of its maturity and firmness of fiber and greater 
freedom from fermenting juices. 

While it is true that sap and open grained timber 
will absorb more of the antiseptic solution than 
well-matured heart timber, and is, by some, con- 
sidered most suitable for treatment, yet it is not clear 
that the very best timber cannot be treated with 
equal profit. 

The fact probably is, that any timber, not exclud- 
ing the best white or buroak, will be benefited to 
such extent as to be profitable and advantageous 
by the prolongation of its usefulness. 

That a compact timber will not absorb as large 
amount of the preservative is owing to the large 
amount of solid wood fiber and the smaller per cent 
of voids in the timber, which only serve for the 
lodgment of the preservative, hence this should be 
no reason tor barring it out, but, on the contrary, 
should be in its favor. 

The available voids in timber varies from 20 per 
cent in volume for compact heart timber to over 
60 per cent for Texas short leaf pine. The compact 
timber is net confined to the oak, hickory, etc., but 
vvill be found among the pines. In almost all cases 
the best timber is found in the lower part or butt cut 
or the tree. 

All in all, it is true that the better the timber the 
better the tie. whether treated or otherwise, in spite 
of its inability to absorb so much of the antiseptic. 

SEASONING. 

^ Sec. 38. To secure the best possible results, any 
timber should have such an amount of seasoning as 
will free it largely of the green saps existing in the 



live tree when cut, or to such extent as may be prac- 
ticable by exposure to a dry atmosphere for perhaps 
from 60 to 90 days ; more time in a damp, rainy 
climate than in a dry, sunshiny exposure. 

Practically speaking, the determination of condi- 
tion of timber suitable must be largely a matter of 
judgment with the further aid of actual results when 
put through the process. 

If perforce timber is treated while in a water- 
logged or green, freshly cut condition, then spe- 
cial means must be resorted to, prolongation of 
steaming, interposition of extra vacuum, prolonga- 
tion of pressure on solution, or all of these, but as 
a rule this should not be done if possible to avoid 
it, as the results will be uncertain. 

Kiln drying is recommended by some, but this 
adds too much to the expense and cannot be as 
good in any case as Nature's action with time. 

STORAGE OF TIES IN STORAGE YARD. 

Where it is desired to give a season of drying to 
incoming ties, a method of piling is advised where 
the air has fair access to most of the surface of the 
ties. In practice a course of four alternating with 
a cross course of seven in the case of average hewn 
ties will do this fairly well. Ties so cribbed in a 
dry climate have been known to lose the greater 
part of their water in one month. 

STORAGE ROOM. 

It is found that if storage tracks are spaced 64 
feet center to center six cribs can be piled, still 
leaving ample clearance for use of tracks by passing 
cars. 

UNLOADING AND PILING. 

Where taken from cars the piles can be made as 
hi2:h as the too of the cars, say 12 feet, and if piled 
as before stated there will be six piles of no ties 

84 



each every lO feet of the space between tracks. At 
this rate the space required per tie would be one 
square foot of ground in the storage part of the 
yard. Hence, a yard 1,500 feet long and 350 feet 
wide would store 525,000 ties. If the ties to be 
stored are sawed ties, the amount that could be 
stored would be 25 to 33 per cent greater. 

Sec. 39. Live and growing timber with its natural 
saps and its sap cells in their normal condition 
will resist the introduction of any fluid, much on 
the principle that two bodies cannot occupy the 
same space at the same time. To be able to intro- 
duce any solution, the natural saps of the timber 
must be in some way freed and expelled from the 
timber either by being evaporated by drying or must 
be forced out by heating, loosening and expanding 
into vapor, as is done under the steaming process. 
The saps in freshly cut timber will immediately be- 
gin to evaporate when, under favorable conditions, 
the timber is exposed to the air, the action com- 
mencing on the exposed surface and gradually ad- 
vancing toward the center of the piece, but if, on 
the contrary, it is exposed to much dampness and 
high climatic temperature, the evaporation pro- 
gresses very slowly and the fermentation of the 
juices of the timber will act quickly, forming at once 
the basis of active decay. The time required to dry 
the timber by exposure to the atmosphere alone will 
go far toward its destruction, the fermentation of the 
saps forming the fungi of decay, attacking the deli- 
cate cells and more delicate and less compact por- 
tions of the timber and then the firmer portions, 
until, in a few months, the timber becomes spongy 
throughout. Timber that has reached this stage will 
take the solution freely, but if decay has gone so far 
as to allow excessive absorption, it will be of little 
value even if treated. 

Sec. 40. Under the action of steam in the retort, 
the juices are heated to such temperature as will 
expel them rapidly, arresting any incipient decay 
and destroying the delicate mechanism of the sap 

85 



cells, clearing the way for the ingress of the solution. 
Microscopic examination proves this to be true. 

It is, therefore, important that the time the steam 
is held must be adjusted to the condition of the tim- 
ber, the most important consideration being that 
its action shall reach the center of the piece. 

The rule here adopted is for 20 lbs. pressure, which 
is equal to 250 degrees Fah., which is the highest 
degree of heat allowable to which the timber can be 
subjected without injury. The steam used should 
be saturated steam, as with superheated steam the 
temperdtvire is uncertain, while no special advantage 
is gained. 

PENETRATION OF STEAM. 

To determine when the penetration of steam dur- 
ing the steaming process has reached the center of 
the piece, the following is proposed : Fix a con- 
necting pipe to the lower dome, so that the con- 
densation during the steaming can be frequently 
drawn, the pipe running to a sink in the machinery 
room, and provided with a small cock. Then at 
intervals of a half hour, draw from this saving a 
small quantity to fill a test tube. A rack holding 
10 or 12 tubes will suffice for six hours' steaming. 
The operator will then have before him a means of 
judging when the off-fall of the timber juices is 
complete. It is not expected to thus form a definite 
rule, but to give a hint that may aid very much in 
determining when the penetration is complete. 

The different timbers, of course, give different ao- 
pearances in the off-fall, hence the operator has to 
read the signs and draw conclusions. The main 
Doint is to know when the timber is cooked through, 
as on this will depend lars-ely the thoroughness of 
the penetration of the antiseptic, whether it be oil 
or solution. 

THE ECONOMIES. 

Sec. 41. The following estimate is based upon the 
conditions existing on the A., T. & S. F. Railroad 
line in New Mexico in 1885. 



The prolongation of life of the Mountain Pine 
there used, from a mean of four and one-half years 
to about twelve years, is quite well authenticated. 
On this is based the following estimate: 
For a period of twelve years. 
Untreated tie placed 2 2-3d times 

Cost of tie, 35C.X 2 2-3 times $0.93 

Cost of placing in track, 2 2-3d ts. .40^ — ^$1-33 

Treated tie, one, 35c $0.35 

Cost of treating, 15c 15 

Cost of placing, 15c i5~$o.65 

Making a saving in twelve years of 68 cents per 
lie or five and two-thirds cents per tie per annum. 

To more fully appreciate what this means, multi- 
ply this by 2640 ties in each mile you have $149.50, 
or approximately $150 per mile per annum. As the 
v/orks built in 1885 consisted of two retorts, with 
annual capacity of 400,000 ties, sufficient to renew 
300 tits per mile on 1,333 miles, the annual saving 
on this basis would be something like $200,000. 

The Las Vegas Works cost about $30,000, a small 
part of the annual saving (about 15 per cent). 

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 

Sec. 42. In a general way, the true value of the 
results must be deducted from the mass of and not 
from individual cases or of a few specimen pieces. 

The variations m density and other conditions are 
as various as there are varieties of timber or parts in 
the tree. Then again, even with the most careful 
inspection timber more or less unsound will come 
wuh the rest, to disturb the investigator should he 
resort entirely to chemical analysis on which to 
found an opinion as to the thoroughness of the treat- 
ment or the value of the results. 

Speaking from^ a practical point of view, the fol- 
lowing line of reasoning will apply: The agents 
used c.re commercial commodities used in gross 
amounts as salt is used to preserve meat, a small 

87 



variation cutting a figure only where large quantities 
are used, where system will conserve economy, but 
where no slight variation will affect the efficiency of 
the treatment. In this the chemist can guard against 
the purchase of adulterated stock. 

Again, the rules and methods for the zinc-tannin 
and kindred processes are so well defined that the 
operator, with the exercise of good judgment, can 
get almost any desired result, and will know just 
what he is doing as to amount of absorption. He 
will know that when he puts in a tie weighing lOO 
lbs. and it comes out weighing 175 lbs. that it has 
absorbed 75 lbs., no more, no less, and knowing the 
strength of the solution, he can safely say that it has 
just so much pure chemical agent, whatever it may 
be in it. To determine how much has been ab- 
sorbed by any or every particular piece in the charge 
is manifestly impracticable, hence only the gross 
result is manifest at the time. 

It must be remembered that each of the different 
processes have been carried on for years, and their 
effectiveness and value are no longer in the field of 
theory, the proofs of effectiveness having been se- 
cured after the lapse of sufficient time to amount to a 
demonstration. The chemist may find a tie that has 
been in service 15 or more years that has but a trace 
of the chemical, and he may find one of the same 
timber that has failed at less than five years, both 
having been treated in the same charge, yet for 
reasons before given this proves nothing as to the 
real value of the process or of its failure. 

The operator that is armed with a thorough knowl- 
edge of chemistry has something that will be of 
great aid to him, but he will find it of much more 
importance to study the mechanical and physical 
features of his work, for instance, whether his steam 
reaches the center of a tie, what the best temperature 
for his solution, how various timbers are best ren- 
dered penetrable, and a hundred other matters vital 
to the success of the process. 



CAUTIONARY. 

Sec. 43. In conclusion, and at the risk of repe- 
tition, the operator is reminded that it is of the ut- 
most importance that every part of the work is 
carried out according to the rules laid down, that 
the condition of the timber be carefully studied and 
the best method be adopted to meet this, that every 
precaution be taken to detect any failure that may 
occur and to take the proper means to rectify this 
even to a repetition of the treatment, and to labor 
to instruct those under him. in the highest possible 
degree to the same end. 

By no other means can good results be surely ob- 
tained, and any mistakes escaping his vigilance, 
while not immediately apparent, will tell seriously 
some time in the future. 

Extraneous influences will often be brought to 
bear to have received and treated timbers not in 
proper condition to be treated, but such should be 
received under protest if received at all, and a record 
should be made of these facts. In this way only will 
the process be protected against unfair charges of 
failure. 

The operator probably will have little control as 
to timber delivered to him for treatment, but it is 
his duty to see that each different class or kind is 
treated separately as far as is possible, and to study 
the method of handling the process best adapted to 
each, bringing every check in his reach to bear, not 
forgetting the weighing and other means of develop- 
ing the best methods. 

BURNETTIZING. 

For the Burnettizing process the appliances are the 
same as for the Zinc-Tannin except that the tubs for 
the glue and for the tannin can be omitted and that 
part of the pipings by which they connect to the re- 
tort are also omitted. The precaution is usually 
taken to put in connections for the piping so that in 
case of change to the other process, that much labor 
and expense is saved by so doing. 



FOR CREOSOTING. 

(a) The additions necessary to provide for creo- 
soting are the necessary storage tub, which should be 
ot metal, as v/ell as a dumping tank in which the oil 
is dumped from the tank car in which it is usually 
shipped to the works. The capacity of the storage 
tub depends upon the desired capacity of the works 
or the portion of the works devoted to creosoting and 
the amount of timber that is to be treated. 

(b) The same pipes are used as with the Burnett 
except, of course, the main pipe to the header, but 
these pipes through which the oil is passed must be 
provided with inside steam pipes by which the oil 
shall be kept fluid by means of live steam passing 
through them. 

(c) In addition to this the retort must be fur- 
nished with a system of heating pipes (steam) of 
such heating surface as will quickly heat the oil in 
the retort to the desired temperature. This is done 
by manifold coils of iron pipes. As the oil must at 
all times be entirely fluid, the storage and the dump- 
ing tubs must also be provided with ample heating 
coils. 

The absorption is secured in the same way as with 
the Wellhouse or the Burnett process, first bv open- 
ing the pores of the wood by steaming, followed by 
the oil under pressure aided by a much higher tem- 
perature on the oil. 

UNITS IN COMPUTATIONS. 

Sec. 44. Line measure feet, tenths and hun- 
dredths, to three decimals. 

Cubic measure, cubic feet and fractions to three 
decimals. 

Tub or vat feet equal area of tub or vat x i foot 
(vert). 

Weights, lbs. Avoirdupois to one to three deci- 
mals. 

Gallons U. S. equal 2M cubic ins., not used as 
being less convenient than cubic feet. 

90 



Weight of water at 60 deg. Fahr. equal 62.4 lbs. 
per cubic foot, or .5775 per oz. Av. (Sea water said 
to be 64.1.) 

Pressure, steam and cold water is counted as per 
square inch in lbs. Av. 

Temperature, Fahrenheit Thermometer (always). 

Weight of concentrated sol. zncL. See table (B) 
Empiric. 

Per cents should be carried to three decimals. 

Means by weight except where otherwise speci- 
fied. 

LAGGING THE RETORT. 

The practice in regard to providing nonradiating cover- 
ing for the retort is quite varied. There is no doubt that an 
economy of fuel results, but, on the other hand, experienced 
operators claim that there is a loss of time and more diffi- 
culty in securing a perfect vacuum, owing to the slow cool- 
ing of the retort after the steam is discharged. If the retort 
room is closed, the temperature gets very high so that the 
radiation is not very great after the heat in the retort gains 
the maximum and when steam is drawn, and by the same 
line of reasoning the retort room should be opened. This is 
not usually done, however, and the practicability of doing so 
is doubted, as usually some one of the retorts reach this stage 
at almost any hour of the day. 

In case of the outdoor portable plant, the lagging seems 
advisable as the radiation is necessarily great. More light 
will be necessary to decide whether the additional cost of the 
lagging is justified in the covered works. 

TEST OF STRENGTH. 
ZINC CHLORIDE SOLUTION.-POWERS. 

The apparatus necessary consists of a graduated glass 
burette and an ordinary coffee cup. The sketch shows the- 
method of making the analysis. 

A is the glass vessel containing the zinc solution diluted 
with distilled water containing a little potassium monochro- 
mate. B holds the standard silver nitrate which is delivered 
into the cup (A) by means of the pinch cock . As long as there is 
any free zinc chloride left in A, the solution will remain yel- 
low from the potassium chromate, but the moment it has all 
reacted with the silver nitrate, one drop in excess silver ni- 
trate solution reacts with the chromate to form a blood red 
solution, so if we take a definite volume of zinc chloride so- 
lution in A, and have the silver nitrate in B of the right 
strength all we have to do Is to simply read off the number of 
c. c. of B solution used and we have the strength of the zinc 
solution direct. 

A correction has to be applied in making up the strength 
of the silver nitrate solution because of the presence of chlo-- 
ride of sodium in the water used From Geo. W. Notes. 

91 



The use of the metric system will only be noticed 
so far as is applicable to the graduated measures 
used in testing laboratory, the larger measures and 
weights usual in the metric system being less con- 
venient for the ordinary computations of volume of 
tanks, retorts, volume of timber, etc., than the cubic 
foot (U. S.) as the unit. 

The plant of the Mexican Central Ry. Co. is ar- 
ranged tor the metric system and the following equiv- 
alents will be convenient for converting these to cubic 
feet, pounds, etc. 

ONE GRAMME. 

1 gramme = 15.4322 grains. 

1 " = 1 c.cm. of pure water at 39.2 deg Fahr. 

1000 " = 2.2046 lbs. Av. (= 1 kilogramme). 

1 " = .0022046 lbs. and 

1 " = .0352736 oz. and 

1 " == 15.4322 grains. 

LINE. 

1 centimeter = .393704 inches, = .032809 feet. 
1 decimeters 3.93704 '* = .328087 '' 
1 meter = 39.37043 '^ = 3.280869 ** 

SQUARE. 

1 square meter equals 10.763 square feet. 

CUBIC. 

1 cubic centimeter = .0610254 cubic inches. 

1000 *• =1 litre. 

1 cubic meter = 35.3105 cubic feet. 

WEIGHTS. 

1 kilogramme = 2.2047 lbs. avoirdupois. 
1 gramme = 15.433 grains (1-7000 lb. a v.) 

EXPANSION OF FLUIDS BY HEAT. 
Water expands in volume : 

Per degree Fahr., t^Uiho or .0002424 = 1. 

Creosote oil, roSESsoo o^ . 0004727 = 2 . 

Stock chloride of zinc, 46 %,io8^gioo oi* .0003171= 1.3 



IMPLEMENTS FOR TESTING SOLUTION. 

Sec. 45, One avoirdupois scale, 4 lbs. down to 
grains. 

One graduated glass test tube, 200 c. cm. will do, 
Ij4 inch. dia. x 12 inch. 

One 1000 c. cm. graduated glass to set on scale, 
with counterbal. 

Two plain test tubes, 1 5^2x12 inch. 

Two dozen test tubes, 5^x6 inch, with cork stop- 
pers. 

Two glass funnels, 3-inch dia. 

One package filters, 6-inch. 

Two open glass jars, 4-inch dia. and 6- inch high. 

Two Beaume hydrometers, o to 60 deg. 

Two Beaume hydrometers, o to 6 degrees, test to 
exactly o in pure water at 60 deg. Fahr. (duplicates 
to meet accident). 

One floating thermometer, Fahr. zero to 250 deg. 

One argand lamp with stand. 

Six four oz. glass beakers. 

Three porcelain saucers, say 4-inch dia. 

Two galvanized iron pails, 4-inch dia. and 12 
inches deep, with wire bail to handle samples of 
solution. 

A half dozen or more glass bottles holding a pint 
or more and having ground glass stoppers will be 
useful to hold various reagents used for testing the 
solutions, some of which are noticed below. 

REAGENTS. Methyl Orange, a i-iooo solution 
for testing for free acid in the chloride solution. 

Ammonia for testing for iron. 

Barium chloride for sulphates. 

Alum and glue for tannin solution, etc. 

TO TEST STRENGTH OF TUB SOLUTION OF 

TANNIN. 

(i.) Prepare reagent as follows: 
Pure water, one liter (1000 grammes). 
Best glue, three grammes (50 grains approxi- 
mately). 



Alum (sulphate), one sramme (i6 grains). 

Heat to ioo° Fahr. and let stand 24 hours to dis- 
solve, then bottle. 

(2.) Make up a small quantity of one-half of one 
per cent tannin solution as follows : Presupposing 
that a sample quantity of known strength in tannic 
acid is kept on hand, then take 12 ounces pure water, 
add to this 26^ grains tannin extract (30 grains is 
close enough), warm and mix well, then filter well 
through two sheets of filter paper and bottle for 
further use. 

(3.) Then take a small sample of the tub solution, 
filter well as with the testing solution, then take 
from each ten cubic centimeters and put each into a 
test tube by itself adding the same amount of the 
reagent (No. i) to each, shake well and cork. 

The glue will combine with the tannin in each, the 
combination settling to the bottom so that the rela- 
tive amount will be apparent to the eye in two or 
three hours. If the tannin is all taken up, the super- 
incumbent water will be nascent and clear of color ; if 
not, and the amount of glue is insufficient, the water 
will be tinged red, and if on the other hand there is 
more glue than tannin, the water will be turbid and 
of a whitish tinge. If, however, the tannin is any- 
thing near the standard the above will do. 

For the following, we are indebted to Octave 
Chanute, C. E. : 

FOR TESTING PURITY OF ZINC CHLORIDE. 

(ZncL). 

For Sulphates. Taking two or three per cent 
solution, add a little barium chloride. If the result is 
a milky white precipitate it shows presence of sul- 
phates. The precipitate is barium sulphate. 

For Free Acid. To a two or three per cent solu- 
tion of ZncU, add a few drops of methyl orange solu- 
tion (i-iooo solution), and if the methyl orange 
changes color it shows presence of free acid. 

To remove this, one of the most objectionable fea- 
tures and most easily removed, place sufficient zinc 

94 



spelter (metallic zinc) in the neutralizing vat to 
combine with and take up the free acid. 

For the presence of iron, one of the most injurious 
of impurities, add ammonia, and shake well. If 
there is a reddish brown flocculent precipitate, it indi- 
cates the presence of iron and the precipitate is fer- 
ric hydrated iron. The presence of over one-half of 
one per cent, should condemn the chloride. For 
timber preserving even less than this sometimes 
considered sufficient to condemn. 

VISUAL TESTS OF THE VARIOUS 
CHEMICALS. 

Ordinarily it is difficult to obtain an operator who 
is sufficiently proficient in chemistry to test the vari- 
ous chemical agents in use and at the same time hav- 
ing the requisite experience in the practical part of 
the operation, and it is here questioned whether it is 
at all necessary. 

With the ordinary intelligent business man visual 
tests easily understood and quickly applied are the 
most desirable. 

Some of these are here given and more will be 
developed by intelligent operators from time to time, 

VISUAL TEST OF DENSITY, STRENGTH AND 
PURITY OF FUSED CHLORIDE OF ZINC. 

FOR DENSITY. 

Put 140 cubic centimeters of pure water into a 
200 c. cm. tube, equals 8.3456 cubic inches, then add 
two ounces of the pure chloride fresh from the drum. 
After the chloride is fully dissolved and the heat gen- 
erated in dissolving it has been given off and the so- 
lution reduced to the original temperature (60 deg. 
Fahr.), then note the reading in the glass. The in- 
crease will be the volume of the fused chloride in 
cubic centimeters, from which the density can be 
calculated. 

Reading equals 156 c. cm. equals 2.0483 ounces 
per cubic inch or 350 lbs. per cubic foot. 

95 



STRENGTH. 

If the chloride is measurably pure, the total weight 
of the 140 c. cm. water (4.9339 oz.), plus the two 
ounces of fused chloride divided into the two ounces 
chloride will give the per cent of strength, the hydro- 
meter reading 29 per cent while the figures will be 
28 84-100 per cent. 

PURITY. 

If the water is pure and the chloride also, the con- 
tents of the tube will be clear as crystal, but usually 
it is difficult to get water entirely free from lime or 
other slight impurities, which will be shown in a 
white flocculent deposit at the bottom of the tube. 

If the chloride is not pure this will show itself by 
letting the tube stand for a number of hours, the im- 
purities settling to the bottom, when the proportion 
of impurities can be read on the graduation tube. 

Some of the zinc spelter used in the manufacture 
of the chloride, especially the Missouri zincs, have a 
considerable amount of lead which produces a chlo- 
ride of lead of heavier specific gravity, causing it to 
settle to the bottom, the line of separation being clear 
and distinct. Some chlorides have been found to 
contain near 10 per cent of this with other like im- 
purities. Pure chloride of zinc will always remain 
clear and pellucid. 

Example: Using 200 c. cm. graduated cylinder. 

Take pure water 5.2861 ozs. (equal 150 c. cm.), add 
4.3250 ozs. pure Znclg (fused) for a 45 per cent so- 
lution. Let it dissolve and remain in 200 c. cm. tube 
and observe the settling. 

4.3250 ozs. at 8 c. cm. per oz. equal 34.6 c. cm. 
5.2861 '• 150.0 water. 

January 5 all dissolved 184.6 c. cm. 

Hyd. Be. 45 per cent. 

Impurities equal 26.5 c. cm. divided by 184.6 c. cm. 
equal 14 35-100 per cent. 

96 



TEST OF TANNIN AND GLUE. 

The basis of such tests will be a gallon of the 
tannin (hemlock extract), the strength in the tannic 
acid being first carefully determined, say from 23 to 
28 per cent usually, then for a '^suitable glue." 

Take 12j4 ounces of the pure water and one-half 
ounce of the tannin, heat to 180^ Fahr. and stir well. 

Take the same amount of water with half ounce of 
the dry glue, boil until glue is thoroughly dissolved, 
requiring 180° Fahr. Bottle both and use before 
cooling. Then measure this four per cent solution 
into test tubes as described below, and set in 
warm place, say from 80° to 110° Fahr., each tube 
being well shaken. Set over night and combination 
will be complete, the condition making it manifest in 
which proportion it is most complete. If the combi- 
nation is complete with equal parts, we have the suit- 
able glue; on the other hand, if most complete with a 
less amount of tannin and a larger amount of glue, it 
is deemed undesirable. The value of glue for the 
purpose is in the amount of gelatine it contains. The 
higher grades lose some of the gelatine in refining. 

It is probable that this same method may be found 
practicable in determining the approximate strength 
of tub solutions of either glue or tannin, as the affinity 
between these two chemicals is so strong that they 
will combine even when mixed with any amount of 
other impurities. 

To make this test, take seven tubes, ^ inches diam- 
eter and 6 inches long is the most convenient, setting 
them in a proper rack. With a 25 c. cm. graduated 
cylinder, measure into No. 1 at the right hand 8 
c. cm. of the glue solution, nine in the second, ten in 
the third and so on to 14 in the seventh. Then take of 
the tannin solution 14 c. cm. for No. 1, 13 for No. 2 
and so on reversing the quantity to that of the glue. 
The middle tube having equal quantity of each, the 
tannin will combine and throw down the glue leaving 
the water quite clear as long as the combination 
is complete and the amount of leatheroid will settle 
to the bottom of the tube in a quantity in proportion 

97 



to the amount of glue, gradually increasing toward the 
left until the quantity of glue becomes too great when 
the glue or the unconsumed portion of it will remain 
in suspension rendering the water turbid and reduc- 
ing the deposit of the leatheroid. 

TO DETERMINE WHEN THE TIMBER IS 
COOKED THROUGH. 

The plant should be so constructed that the con- 
densation during steaming can be drawn off fre- 
quently, say every thirty minutes. A small pipe 
leading from the blow-off to the sewer can be brought 
to a sink in the engine room so that a small quantity 
can be secured and placed in a test tube in a rack 
placed in the window where it is easily observed. 

Usually the operator can judge very closely when 
the timber juices are exhausted and thus avoid 
wasteful continuance of the steaming. With most 
timbers three and a half hours is sufficient. 

TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF STEAM- 
ING AND VACUUM. 

It will aid the judgment very much by weighing a 
car or two in a charge before introduction, again 
after vacuum, and again after withdrawal at the com- 
pletion of the treatment. Timber very dry on intro- 
duction will be found slightly heavier after the 
vacuum, but very green fresh cut timber will be 
found lighter, having given off more of its saps than 
it has absorbed of the moisture of the steam. 



BURNETTIZING, CREOSOTING AND 
OTHER PROCESSES. 

BURNETTIZING. 

We think it worth while to insert a paper written 
by Harry Grimshaw in 1885, in full. His descrip- 
tion of the ** Burnett " process is too concise and com- 
plete; so free from technicalities, and couched in 
terms easily understood, and his paper is so complete — 
a compendium of the state of the timber preservation 
of that time — that it is deemed worthy of reprint 
here. — Ed. 



ON THE PRESERVATION OF TIMBER 
FROM DECAY. 

BY HARRY GRIMSHAW, F. C. S. 

The perishable nature of wood, especially when 
placed in situations where there is an excess of mois- 
ture in the surroundings, has led to many experiments 
with a view to discover a process of treating timber 
with salts or oils that would preserve it from decay. 

Dry rot, sometimes called sap rot, the most formi- 
dable disease to which timber is subject, is commonly 
attributed to a combination of the acids found in the 
sap with the oxygen of the air, which produces fer- 
mentation, followed by decomposition. Unseasoned 
timber, placed in damp situations, with partial ven- 
tilation, will soon show signs of dry rot. Beams, 



which presented the appearance of being sound on 
the outside, have been found completely rotten on the 
inside. The shell remains sound because it becomes 
seasoned and relieved from the sap. 

Wet rot (as distinguished from dry rot) is con- 
sidered to be occasioned by alternate exposure to 
moisture and dryness, beginning at the surface of the 
timber and working inward. Piles and other timber 
placed in salt or fresh water will show signs of wet 
rot at the water line before it attacks other parts. 
Posts, set in the ground, first begin to rot at the 
ground line. 

Among the earlier investigators on the subject of 
preserving timber may be mentioned Johann Glau- 
ber, the famous chemist of Carlstadt, Germany, who 
in 1657 experimented with vegetable tar and pyro- 
ligneous acid, the wood having been first carbonized 
by the action of fire, then covered with a coating of 
tar and immersed in pyroligneous acid. Since this 
period many processes have been tried, but most 
have not survived, either through cost of material or 
difftculties in their application. Since then, up to 
1846, no less than forty-seven (47) different processes 
adapted for the preservation of wood are recorded, 
besides others of more recent date. Of these proc- 
esses, many of them would, no doubt, prove effective, 
provided they could be carefully and economically 
applied. It is a difficult problem to treat timber in 
large quantities and meet with reasonable success. 
The condition of the timber that is to be treated 
should always be considered. It should be sound. The 
trees should be cut during the season when the least 
amount of sap is flowing, which in this country is in 
the winter, say from November to February. It should 
not be treated in a frozen state, and it is advisable to 
shape the timber to the form in which it is to remain 
before the treatment is applied. 

Seasoning is a very important factor. A few 
months of exposure to the air and sun will materially 
add to the durability of the wood. The process of 
treatment must be rigidly and faithfully performed. 
The opportunities of gross frauds which cannot 

100 



readily be detected, are many, and the numerous 
instances on record, where cheating has been system- 
atically carried on at works established for the pur- 
pose of treating timber, prove that the safest course 
tor parties using preserved timber is to do the work 
themselves. 

Three of the well-known processes for preserving 
timber are the following, viz.: 

1. Creosoting, Creosote oil (so called) being the 
antiseptic. 

2. Burnettizing, chloride of zinc being the anti- 
septic. 

3. Kyanizing, corrosive sublimate being the anti- 
septic. 

CREOSOTING. 

The creosoting process consists of injecting timber 
with hot creosote oil, in a closed cylinder, under pres- 
sure. It was invented in 1838 by John Bethel, who 
found that by forcing at least seven pounds of creosote 
oil into each cubic foot of timber, the process was 
satisfactory for railroad sleepers and other railway 
work, but that for marine work it was better to have 
not less than ten pounds per cubic foot. In other 
countries, experimenters have used from ten to twenty 
pounds of creosote oil per cubic foot, and the esti- 
mated cost is from sixpence to a shilling per cubic 
foot, or fifty to one hundred shillings per thousand 
feet, board measure. Creosote oil (such as is most 
commonly used in this country and abroad for the 
treatment of wood) is distilled from coal tar. It is a 
heavy oil which will sink in water, and contains car- 
bolic acid, creosote, and other constituents considered 
effectual for the preservation of wood. Creosoting 
is far from being a cheap process, and for this reason 
perhaps more than any other, it has failed to be ex- 
tensively adopted in America. Creosoting meets 
with favor in England, and at the present time it is 
the only process that is carried on with any degree of 
magnitude and success. 

101 



BURNETTIZING. 

Burnettizing was introduced by Sir William Bur- 
nett, in 1838. The invention consists of destroying 
the tendency of certain vegetable and animal sub- 
stances to decay, by submitting them to the action of 
chloride of zinc. The degree of dilution recom- 
mended by Burnett is one part by volume to fifty 
parts of water. The method of impregnating the 
wood under a pressure of seven to eight atmospheres, 
as is done in the creosoting process, is most com- 
monly used. The cost of burnettizing is less than 
one-third of the cost of creosoting. There are no 
burnettizing works of any extent in America at the 
present time. Some of the railroads in various parts 
of the country have experienced good results from 
the burnettizing of ties, especially ties of soft wood, 
such as pine, tamarack, hemlock and ceder. Among 
them may be mentioned the Rock Island and Pacific 
Railroad, the Lehigh and Susquehanna Railroad, and 
the Vermont Central Railroad. The process was in- 
troduced at Lowell, in 1850, and conducted faithfully 
for about twelve years,during which period a very large 
amount of timber was burnettized for bridges and 
other structure purposes in exposed situations. 

In Germany, burnettizing meets with more favor. 
The Stuttgart Technical Convention of 1887 expressed 
itself as follows : 

" As the experience of those railroads that have 
from twenty-five to twenty-six years impregnated their 
sleepers with chloride of zinc, under pressure, after 
steaming and abstracting the sap, has been very sat- 
isfactory, and as this system costs only one-third or 
less compared with impregnation with creosote or 
corrosive sublimate, many of the railroads have 
adopted the chloride of zinc process." 

Steaming the wood under a pressure of sixty to 
seventy pounds per square inch, as done in Germany, 
preparatory to burnettizing, no doubt adds to its 
durability. Tredgold considers that steamed timber 
shrinks less and stands better than that which is 
naturally seasoned. Barlow, another good authority, 

102 



is of opinion that the seasoning goes on more rapidly 
after the piece is steamed. 

KYANIZING. 

This process was invented and introduced into 
England in 1832, by John Howard Kyan. It consists 
of steeping the wood in a solution of corrosive subli- 
mate, and the degree of dilution is usually one pound 
of the salt to ninety-nine pounds of water. 

It is a very slow process compared with those in 
which the wood is impregnated under pressure, and 
requires about as many days for treatment as creosot- 
ing or burnettizing would require hours. 

The usual rule in America is to allow the timber to 
steep in vats for a length of time, depending upon its 
least thickness, thus, if the timber is ten by twelve 
inches thick, it would remain in the vats eleven days; 
if six by nine inches, it would steep seven days. 
Bichloride of mercury, which is the antiseptic in this 
process, contains muriatic acid, which acts upon iron, 
and it is found impracticable to attempt to impreg- 
nate the wood under a pressure in iron cylinders, as 
can be done when creosote oil or chloride of zinc is 
used. Kyanizing was introduced in Woolwich by the 
royal engineers in 1836, but has gone out of use in 
England. The great cost of the material no doubt has 
been the chief cause of this, as a material costing 
3d 6s per lb. has small chance of adoption where 
creosote is about 3d. per gallon, and pure chloride 
of zinc under 2d per pound, although in America, 
where these two latter named substances are not so 
readily obtainable, the kyanizing process of impreg- 
nation with bichloride of mercury has recently been 
carried on. 

The only rival therefore to creosote as a preserva- 
tive of timber, is the chloride of zinc, and now that 
the means of production of the latter have rendered 
it so cheap, it is becoming largely adopted on the 
continent, and the English railway companies, mine 
owners, and other users of timber should, in their own 
interests, study the application of this substance as 

103 



preservative from decay. At the prices ruling at the 
present time, the chloride of zinc process (originally 
denominated burnettizing) is less than one-third of 
that of creosoting, and in view of the fact that 
creosote and other heavy oils are destined to be more 
largely used as fuel, the economy effected by the use 
of the chloride of zinc will become greater. 

Railway companies especially would benefit, both 
by the lower cost of the process and by the fact that 
large quantities of creosote would be released from 
use for timber preservation, and so be available for 
fuel under their locomotive boilers. 

As to the cost of the process, it is found that the 
solution of chloride of zinc, of the right strength for 
preserving of timber, is of about four per cent 
Twaddle's hydrometer, or 1.02 specific gravity, and 
the price of this to-day is about seven shillings per 
ton. The price of creosote oil in most places will be 
at least two pence per gallon, which is equal to thirty- 
seven shillings per ton, or five times that of the 
chloride of zinc solution. 

There can be no question, therefore, of the initial 
advantage, i. e., that of the actual price of the one 
material over the other. Should there be any neces- 
sity to transport the material to a distance, the ad- 
vantage becomes more pronounced. The chloride of 
zinc is now manufactured in a solid form, which \s fifty 
times as strong as the solution used for '* burnettiz- 
ing," the freight being thus reduced to one-fiftieth. 
In case of export, this is, of course, an immense ad- 
vantage, which is further added to by the fact that 
chloride of zinc is absolutely noninflammable and is 
noncorrosive, and can be packed in either wooden 
casks or iron drums of an inexpensive description. 

As to the mode of application, exactly the same 
plant as that used for creosoting is adapted to the use 
of chloride of zinc, and the same " modus operandi " 
is followed out, namely, that of injection under pres- 
sure in closed vessels, preferably after previous ex- 
haustion of the air from the vessels. 

In cases where it is not practicable to employ the 
usual apparatus for creosoting, and the timber has to 

104 



be submitted to simple immersion in the fluid for a 
longer or shorter time, the chloride of zinc has a great 
advantage over creosote oil on account of its greater 
fluidity and greater affinity for the soluble matters of 
the wood, which causes it to penetrate more rapidly 
and deeply into the pores. 

Where simple "soaking" or "pickling" of the tim- 
ber is adopted, the vessel used may be a tank of wood 
or iron, or may be of brick or stone sunk in the 
ground. At one establishment there are used two 
tanks or vats built in the ground with bricks. They 
are fifty feet by eight feet six inches and four feet 
six inches deep. The inside course is best of blue 
bricks, set in pitch, or ordinary bricks soaked in 
melted pitch. Such a tank will last for years without 
repairs, and will hold from twelve to fifteen thousand 
feet, board measure, of timber. 

It is a noticeable fact that in the treatment of 
timber by absorption in this way, if it is immersed 
while containing' sap, i. e., in a more or less green 
state, the chloride of zinc penetrates more quickly 
and farther than when dry, but the amount of material 
taken up is not so great. 

After treatment with the chloride of zinc, it is the 
practice of some of the continental railway com- 
panies to give an outside coat of hot tar oil, in which 
some pitch has been dissolved. 

The great importance of an extremely cheap and 
efficient mode of preserving timber, is apparent when 
it is borne in mind that in the form of railway 
sleepers and similar objects, soundness and durability 
are prolonged to some two to four times that of 
timber in its natural state, and seeing that the forests 
and timber supplies of almost all countries are 
rapidly decreasing in extent, the question of economi- 
cally lengthening the period of usefulness of wood 
used for railway, mining, and other outside work, 
becomes one of almost national importance. 

The object of this paper is chiefly to point out, 
that in this country it appears to have been quite 
overlooked that the admirable process discovered by 
Sir William Burnett, has now, through the develop- 

105 



ment of the manufacture of chloride of zinc, become 
the most economical method extant, for the preserva- 
tion of timber from decomposition and decay. 

For information as to processes carried on in 
America, the writer is much indebted to Mr. James 
Francis, of Lowell, in a paper read before the New 
England Cotton Manufacturers Association. 

PATENTED PROCESS OF TREATING 
TIMBER. 

CREOSOTING. 

The improved process herein described of impreg- 
nating timber with preservative fluids, consisting in 
placing the timber in the retort with vents left open 
to the air, then introducing creosote in sufficient 
quantities to submerge the timber in the same, then 
heating the timber and the creosote to a tempera- 
ture above the boiling point of the sap at ordinary 
atmospheric pressure whereby the sap is expelled 
from the timber, then closing the vents of the retort 
and by the appHcation of pressure forcing the creo- 
sote into the pores of the timber to take the place of 
the evaporated sap, substantially as described. 

Covered by Letters Patent No. 11,515 Dec. 3, 1895, 
issued to W. G. Curtis and John Isaacs of San Fran- 
cisco, Cal., to whom appHcation for right to use 
should be made. 

This notice of this patented process is inserted by permis- 
sion of the patentees, the author desiring to embrace all pos- 
sible information of interest relating to timber preservation. 
The standing of these men— John D. Isaacs, C. E., and W. G. 
Curtis, C. E. (deceased), pioneers in the business, is such as 
to vouch for the value of the process. If, as it is claimed, the 
steaming can be omitted, there is a distinct saving of time 
and a corresponding saving in cost. It must be held in mind, 
however, that timber differs so radically in different parts of 
even the United States that its value can only be determined 
by actual trial. The statement of operation and of cost of 
treating, both Burnettizing and creosoting, here inserted, is 
furnished by John D. Isaacs, C. E,, engineer of maintenance 

106 



of way of Southern Pacific Railway, and is so complete and 
well arranged tliat it is thought proper to give it place here. 
The cost of treatment varies considerably with locality 
This is net cost to the railroad company and does not cover 
investment, interruption of operation or operators' profits, 
when the business is conducted as a commercial enterprise. 

SOUTHERN PACIFIC COMPANY. 

(Pacific System.) 

Statement of Cost of Burnettizing Cross 
Ties for the Year Ending June 30, 1902. 

At Dietze, Cal. (Portable Plant.) 







< 


Cost of Treatment Per 
Tie— Cents. 




3 
o 


t 








July 

August. . 

Sept 

October.. 

Nov 

Dec 


(7x8) 49,053 
(6x8) 9,775 
(7x8) 113,433 
(6x8) 16,300 
(7x8) 96,096 
(6x8) 11,193 
(7x8) 99,302 
(6x8) 19.413 
(7x8) 91,184 
(7x8) 10,049 
(7x8) 42,455 


.60 
.60 
.60 
.60 
.60 
.60 


4.58 
3.7& 
3.72 
3.85 
3.90 
4.07 


1.47 
.58 

..05 
.68 

1.29 
.41 


2.82 
3.09 
3.23 
3.00 
3.12 
3.13 


.57 
.10 
.12 
.09 
.09 
.67 


9.44 
7.54 
8.11 

7.72 
8.40 
8.26 




558,319 


.60 


3.89 


.88 


3.08 


.19 


8.05 



Cost of moving and setting up. 



8.30 



491,513 7x8 inch ties 
66,807 6x8-inch ties-^to 548,780 7x8-inch ties : cost per ties 8.20 



107 



At Latham, Ore. (Portable Plant) 





02 


13 fd 


Cost of Treatment Per 


m 


O <Q 




Tie-.Cents. 






< 


3 
o 


13 




li 


1 


Jan 


(6x8) 8,903 
















(7x8) 97,777 


.60 


3.73 


.84 


2.79 


.12 


7.39 


Feb 


(6x8) 75,397 
















(7x8) 21,267 


.60 


3.65 


.73 


2.60 


.16 


7.74 


April .... 


(6x8) 62,324 
















(7x8) 53,490 


.60 


3.78 


.08 


2.43 


.37 


6.66 


May 


(6x8) 49,023 
















(7x8) 69,815 


.60 


2.69 


.69 


2.42 


.08 


5.87 


June — 


(6x8) 20,540 
















(7x8; 38,142 


.60 


4.51 




3.42 
2.63 


.70 


8.63 




496,776 


.60 


3.57 


.51 


.24 


6.95 



Cost of moving and setting up. 



32 



7.27 



216,187 6x8-inch ties 

280,591 7x8-incli ties— to 465,910 7x$-incli ties . cost per ties 7 . 41 

At Oakland, Gal. 



wg 


.2d 

O O 


< 


Cost of Treatment Per 
Tie— Cents. 


11 


3 

Q 


% 
fe 


1 


hi 


5 ^ 


O 


Sept 

October.. 
Feb. '02.. 
March. .. 
April.... 

May 

June 


(7x8) 38,454 
(7x8) 69,151 
(7x8) 55,681 
(7x8) 88,860 
(7x8) 18,991 
(7x8) 54,506 
(7x8) 84,304 


.60 
.60 
.60 
.60 
.60 
.60 
.60 


3.77 
3.60 
3.66 
3.79 
3. ,59 
3.73 
3.22 


1.23 
1.01 
1.08 
1.11 
.90 
1.02 
1.33 


2.30 
2.80 
2.84 
2.46 
2.36 
2.65 
2.48 


1 


33 
10 
47 


.21 
.12 
.16 
.14 
.11 
.13 
.13 


8.51 
7.86 
8.84 
7.97 
6.96 
7.51 




55 


7.71 




409,947 


.60 


3.61 


1.12 


2.67 




42 


.14 


7.96 



108 



CREOSOTED TIMBER. 

THE NORFOLK CREOSOTING COMPANY^S METHOD OF PRE- 
SERVING WOOD FROM MOLLUSKS AND THE 
ELEMENTS. 

The preservation of timber by the Dead Oil of 
Coal Tar process, as carried on by all well-equipped 
creosoting plants, consists of two distinct operations 
— the preparation of the wood, and its impregna- 
tion with the preservative. The preparation of the 
wood necessary for the proper reception of the pre- 
serving substances is the removal of all those por- 
tions of the tissue which are subject to fermentative 
action. This consists of the extraction of the liq- 
uids and semi-liquids occupying the interfibrous 
spaces, and constituting the very immature portions 
of the wood, without softening the cement binding 
of the febrillae, or bundles of cellulose tissue, form- 
ing the solid or fully matured part. Upon the suc- 
cessful accomplishment of this entirely depends the 
value of artificially preserved wood for structural 
purposes. If this step of the operation is conducted 
at too low a temperature, or for too short a time, the 
sap or liquid part nearest the surface will only be 
extracted, the consequence of which will be an in- 
sufficient space for receiving the preservative. If, on 
the other hand, the operation is carried on at too 
high a temperature, or for too long a time, the resi- 
nous portion of the bundles of fibrillse will be soft- 
ened and the wood lose its elasticity in just the pro- 
portion that the coherence of the fibrillse is less- 
ened. The temperature should never be less than 
100° C. or exceeding 130° C. Of the two possible 
methods for the removal of the undesirable portions 
of the timber, exposure to currents of dry air, and 
steaming under pressure with an after drying in a 
vacuum, the latter is now the universal practice. 
While the first named plan may seem the more ra- 
tional, and the one least likely to modify injuriously 

109 



the physical structure, such is not the case. Under 
proper manipulation, a more thorough desiccation, 
without harmful change of the organic structure, 
can be accomplished in twelve hours less by the lat- 
ter process, than is ever possible with air drying 
which, under the most favorable circumstances, is a 
long-drawn-out operation, and cannot do more than 
extract the water from that portion of the sap which 
has not yet reached the semi-solid stage, thus leav- 
ing in the tissues of the wood a very considerable 
amount of resinous matter which occupies space that 
should be ready to receive the creosote oil. The con- 
sequence of this is a failure of the oil to reach many 
of the interfibrous passages, which are either left 
empty or are filled with the gelatinous part of the 
half-matured growth cells in which are to be found 
the conditions that make putrefaction possible. In 
order to remove the sap from wood, it is first nec- 
essary to vaporize it and then to bring about such 
external circumstances which shall allow outflow of 
all gaseous matter from the interior of the wood. 
In order to vaporize the sap it is necessary to break 
down the walls of the cells containing the liquid and 
semi-liquid substances. This is readily accomplished 
through the agency of heat applied through the me- 
dium of a moist steam bath, at such a pressure as 
to keep the temperature of the wood, and its sur- 
rounding atmosphere, somewhat above the boiling 
point of the sap. The maintenance of this condi- 
tion for a few hours is found to be quite sufficient to 
break down the sap-cell tissue and to vaporize all 
those constituents that it is desirable to withdraw. 
This point having been reached, the steam bath is 
discontinued, and the temperature being maintained 
at, or slightly above, the vaporizing point of the sap, 
the pressure of the atmosphere surrounding the 
wood within the chamber is reduced below that of 
the interior of the wood. The result of this condi- 
tion is an outflow of vapor and air, continuing until 
equilibrium is restored. This equilibrium is pre- 
vented by the use of an exhaust pump until the ab- 

110 



sence of aqueous vapor in the discharge from the 
pump indicates the completion of the operation. At 
this stage of wood tissue is in a state very like that 
of a sponge cleared of hot water; every pore is gap- 
ing open and ready to receive the oil. 

In the practice of the Norfolk Creosoting Com- 
pany the most carefully dried lumber is steamed and 
subjected to the action of the heated ''vacuum" in 
order that there may be had that thorough and uni- 
form penetration of the preserving liquid that is es- 
sential to the highest efficiency of the product. The 
timber having been thus prepared the creosote oil is 
admitted to the chamber, which is still kept under 
the influence of the vacuum pump, at a temperature 
somewhat above the boiling point of the sap, at the 
pressure then existing in the chamber. As the hot 
oil envelops the wood and enters the interfibrous 
spaces, the aqueous vapor yet remaining in the wood, 
by reason of its less specific gravity, rises to the top 
of the containing chamber and is withdrawn by the 
pump. By the time that the chamber is entirely 
filled with oil, all the remaining moisture has es- 
caped. The exhaust pump is stopped and, in order 
to facilitate the absorption of the oil by the wood, a 
pressure pump is set to work supplying oil to the 
chamber at such pressure as may be desired. This 
operation is continued until the requisite amount of 
oil has been put into the timber. The chamber is 
then opened and the timber withdrawn. The appa- 
ratus is then ready for further use. 

The successful conduct of the operation above 
outlined exacts the most careful attention and skill- 
ful management, supplemented by adequate and 
suitable appliances. The wide divergence in the 
characteristics of timber; the varying amounts of 
sap, due to the lapse of time since, and the season in 
which the tree was felled ; its possible subsequent im- 
mersion in water for a longer or shorter time; the 
character of the soil and the conditions under which 
the tree grew, whether in a dense forest or a com- 
paratively open country, whether it is of a rapid even 

111 



growth, or a slow intermittent one, are all factors 
contributing to a more or less perfect product. To 
the experienced operator these conditions indicate^ 
in each case, the proper course to be pursued. Fail- 
ure to observe and to take them into consideration 
is to invite indifferent, uncertain and in the end un- 
satisfactory results. Of equal importance is a proper 
understanding of the circumstances under which the 
finished product is to be used. Timber for piers^ 
wharves and other structures in tropical waters de- 
mand processes and degrees of thoroughness of 
treatment that are unnecessarv in the harbors of 
more temperate climates, which are, in turn, more 
exacting than land and fresh water construction. 

The success of the Dead Oil of Coal Tar process 
owes its virtue to the presence of insoluble non- 
volatile substances indifferent to the attacks of oxi- 
dation or putrefaction, under the conditions to which 
its product is normally exposed. Of these substances, 
by far the most abundant are the Naphthalene com- 
pounds which occur in commercial dead oi! 
of coal tar to the extent of from thirty to sixty 
per cent by weight. Naphthalene proper, the most 
abundant of the series, is in its pure state a white 
substance in the form of closely adhering rhom- 
boidal crystals. It fuses at 79° C. and vapo- 
rizes at 212-220. Its specific gravity is 0.9778 at its 
boiling point. It is insoluble in cold water; spar- 
ingly so in hot ; it is slightly volatile at normal tem- 
peratures. 

SPECIFICATION FOR CREOSOTED TIMBER. 

MATERIALS.— Timber shall be of the dimension 
specified, straight, free from windshakes, large or 
loose or decayed knots, red-heart or anything impair- 
ing its strength or durability, and to be cut from 
sound live trees, and to be . . . 

OIL. — All oil shall be the heavy or dead oil of 
coal tar, containing not more than ij^ per cent of 
water, and not more than 5 per cent of tar, and not 
more than 5 per cent of carbolic acid. 

112 



It must not flash below 185° F. nor burn below 
200° F. and it must be fluid at 118° F. It must be- 
gin to distill at 320° F. and must yield between that 
temperature and 410° F. of all substances, less than 
20 per cent by volume. 

Between 410 and 470*^ F. the yield of naphthalene 
must be not less than 40 nor more than 60 per cent 
by volume. At two degrees above its liquefying 
point it must have a specific gravity of maximum 
1.05 and minimum 1.015. 

PROCESSES OF TREATMENT.— Seasoning : 
This is to be accomplished by subjecting the timber 
to the action of live steam for a period of from 
five to seven hours at a pressure of 35 to 55 pounds 
per square inch, the temperature not at any time ex- 
ceeding 275° F. unless the timber be water-soaked, 
in which case it may reach 285° F. for the first half 
of the period. At the expiration of the steaming 
the chamber shall be entirely emptied of sap and 
water by drawing ofif at the bottom. As soon as the 
chamber is cleared of all sap and water a vacuum of 
not less than 20 inches shall be set up and maintained 
in the chamber, for a period of from five to eight 
hours, or until the discharge from the vacuum pump 
has no odor or taste, the temperature in the cham- 
ber being maintained at between 100 and 130° F. The 
chamber being again emptied of all sap and water 
the oil is to be admitted, the vacuum pump being 
worked at its full speed until the chamber is filled 
with oil. As soon thereafter as is practicable such 
a pressure shall be set up as shall cause the entire 
charge of timber to absorb . . . pounds of oil 
within . . . per cent more or less (at a mini- 
mum penetration of i^ inches in round timber for 
a treatment of 12 pounds of oil per cubic feet, con- 
stituting a basis for determining the penetration due 
to a treatment of any specific Quantity of oil) . . . 
inches from all exposed surfaces. The depth of the 
penetration being ascertained by boring the treated 
piece with an auger, making a hole not more than 
Vs inch in diameter, such pieces as are found not to 

113 



have the required penetration being returned to the 
chamber with a subseouent charge for further treat- 
ment. 

INSPECTION. — Inspection shall be made as the 
work progresses, and at as early a date as is prac- 
ticable, in order that there may be a minimum loss 
of time and materials due to rejections. 

The inspector, or other authorized agent of the 
purchaser, shall have reasonable notice of the inten- 
tion on the part of the contractor to begin the treat- 
ment of a charge of timber, and he shall have at all 
times during the treatment of the timber under his 
charge access to the works, and all reasonable and 
necessary facilities for ascertaining that all the re- 
quirements of this specification are complied with. 
Such ^'reasonable facilities" providing opportunity, 
at the proper time, for measuring all timber, treat- 
ment-chambers, oil-tanks, etc., and for taking sam- 
ples of the oil being used, for analysis, as often as 
he may deem necessary. 

NOTE. — All cut ends, mortises, tenons, and other 
incisions of the original surface of creosoted timber 
should be protected by not less than four coats of 
creosote oil, applied boiling hot with a brush or mop. 
In the case of mooring piles, fender piles, and other 
timber having the cut end exposed to the weather, 
the portions so exposed should have, in addition to 
the creosote oil, a heavy final coat of a paste made 
of equal parts of unslaked lime and creosote oil, 
applied hot. 

NOTES ON CREOSOTING. 
SOUTHERN PACIFIC PROGRAMME. 

Naphthalene, requires 170 deg. Fahr. to liquefy. 
Spec. Grav. at 60 deg. — 1.050 Be. 

Programme. 

(i) Vacuum 24 inches ten minutes. 
(2) Steam to temp. 125 deg. Fahr., 15 to 20 min- 
utes. 

lU 




A, 



- 1 




115 



?!1 } : 



It 



. - ^rn^M 



^1 



rr^-^ 



w 

o 

< 

o 
o 

o 

H 

<J 
p 

o 
ft 

o 

05 



116 




o 

t 

w 



s 



117 




o 

o 



O 

H 



118 







flS«SWeWJ!«*» iV^i 







Fig. 53— unloading tank for creosote 



119 




H 

PM 



« 
g 



H 



SPECIAL CROSS FOR »NSIOe PIPES 
SCALE I" TO r 



A(cr,/6^/SC3 



^^^l^,J(/i^^ 



120 



(3) Vacuum, 15 to 20 minutes. 

(4) Live steam at 30 lbs., 40 minutes, and kept up 
five (5) hours, temp, not above 250 deg. Fahr. 

(5) Blow oft* steam, 40 minutes. 

(6) Third vacuum to 24 to 26 inches for 90 min- 
utes. 

(7) Introduce creosote oil at 170 deg. Fahr. and 
hold at 100 lbs. two hours. 

(8) Then force back and withdraw charge. 
Charge requiring about 11 hours to complete, in- 
cluding introduction and removal of charge. 

Notes. — The Great Northern Railway of Ireland 
requires temperature of oil to be 120 deg. Fahr. and 
to be held under pressure of 100 lbs. for three hours. 

RECORD OF CREOSOTING SOUTHERN 
PACIFIC RY. 

The table given on the following page is compiled 
by John D. Isaacs, C. E. Engineer of Maintenance of 
Way of the Southern Pacific Railway. The table is 
a volume in itself in the way of valuable and author- 
itative information. The absorption of 1.15 gallons 
to 1. 18 gallons is equal to about ten pounds to the 
cubic foot and $15.96 to $17.38 per M. B. M. is about 19 
to 20 cents per cubic foot. Taking the mean, 20 cents, 
a 6"x8" 8-foot tie would cost 53.4 cents and an aver- 
age tie of 3.2 cubic feet, 64 cents each. 



121 



Statement Showing Cost of Creosoting Ma- 
terial AT THE Southern Pacific Com- 
PANY Wood Preserving Works 
FOR THE Year Ending 
June 30, 1902. 
At Oakland. Gal. 



02 oi 

4^ OS 

§1 






Cost of Treatment per 1,000 Ft. 
B. M.— In Dollars. 


O 


<u 


1-^ 


11 


CD 

hi 


1 

o 


July..... 
August. . 
Sept .... 
October.. 

Nov 

Dec 

Jan. 1902. 
Feby .... 
March... 
April.... 

May 

June .... 


829,128 
392,580 
112,236 

Not in 
545,160 
912,792 
839,964 

Not in 

Not in 

478,476 

98,760 

Not in 


1.15 

1.12 

1.15 
operati 

1.15 

1.13 

1.15 
operati 
operati 

1.15 

1.15 
operati 


13.45 
12.34 
12.68 

on 
12.56 
12.27 
2-47 

on 

on 
12.45 
13.19 

on 


.75 

.08 

.78 

.71 
.73 

.72 

.87 
.65 


1.62 
1.67 
2.10 

1.68 
1.43 
1.37 

1.94 
1.23 


.12 
.66 
.28 

1.42 
.24 

.69 

1.91 
5.17 


.05 
.03 
.06 

.05 
.04 
.05 

.08 
.12 


15.97 
15.68 
19.88 

16.42 
14.71 
15.30 

17.25 
29.36 


Total.... 
At Latha 
June, '02. 


4210,116 
m, Ore. 

208,613 


1.15 
1.18 


12.63 
12.83 


.77 
.61 


1.60 
3.90 


.91 
.01 


.05 
.02 


15.96 
17.38 



122 



RUTGER PROCESS. 

ZINC CREOSOTE PROCESS. 

Impregnation with Chloride of Zinc solution with an 
Admixture of Tar Oil Containing Carbolic Acid, 
According to a Process Invented and Introduced by- 
Julius Rutgers. 

The process consists of three operations: 

1. Steaming the timber. 

2. Producing a vacuum and admitting the pre- 
serving fluid. 

3. The application of the pressure pump. 

The impregnation is to be carried on by exactly 
the same process as prescribed for the chloride of 
zinc solution alone, in the preceding part A of this 
specification. The same conditions will obtain con- 
cerning the composition of the chloride of zinc solu- 
tion and guarantee for the absorption of the pre- 
serving fluid. While the chloride of zinc solution is 
being heated, an amount of 2 kg. of tar oil shall be 
added to the solution for each tie of a length of 2.50 
m. and over, or 20 kg. tar oil for each cubic meter 
of timber. 

^ The mixing of tar oil with chloride of zinc solu- 
tion shall be done by means of an eflicient me- 
chanical device, and a jet of steam and air. 

COMPOSITION OF THE TAR OIL TO BE 
USED. 

The tar oil must contain not more than one per 
cent of oils that boil below 125 deg. C. (257 deg. R). 
^ The boiling point of the tar oil as a whole must 
lie between 150 deg. and 400 deg. Celsius (302 and 
752 deg. F.) and not more than 25 per cent must 
become volatile below 235 deg. Celsius (455 deg. F.). 

At least 20 to^ 25 per cent of its constituents must 
be acids dissolving in caustic soda lye of 1.15 spec, 
grav. (oils of the creosote or carbolic acid type). 

123 



At 15 deg. Celsius (59 deg. F.) the tar oil must be 
completely fluid and must be free as possible from 
naphthalene, so that when distilled in glass vessels, 
in groups of 50 degrees each (fractional distillation), 
it should give off not more than 5 per cent of naph- 
thalene. The specific gravity of the tar oil at 15 deg. 
Celsius (59 deg. F.) must lie between 1,020 and 

I 055. 

0. Chanute, M. W. S. E. March 21, 1900. 

"CREOSOTING" BY JULIUS RUTGERS. 

Impregnation with Heated Dead Oil of Tar Con- 
taining Carbolic Acid, According to a Process 
Invented and Introduced by Julius Rutgers. 
The treatment consists of two parts: 

1. The drying of the timber — i. e., withdrawing 
the moisture from the wood by means of heated oil 
of tar and the action of an air pump. 

2. Pressing the oil of tar into the wood by means 
of a pressure pump. 

I. DRYING THE TIMBER. 

The timber to be impregnated is introduced into 
the impregnating cylinder which is then hermetically 
sealed. A vacuum of 60 cm. (23.6 in.) of mercury 
is then produced and kept up for 10 minutes. The 
oil of tar, previously heated, is then introduced into 
the cylinder, to such a height that it cannot be 
"sucked over" by the air pump, the vacuum being 
continuously maintained. 

The admission of the heated oil of tar is com- 
pleted at a single operation or with interruptions, 
according to the dryness of the timber. 

During or subsequent to the filling, the oil of tar 
in the cylinder is heated to a temperature of not less 
than 105 deg. C. (221 deg. F.) and not more than 
115 deg. C. (239 deg. F.) by means of steam, using 
a coil lying in the lower part of the impregnating 
cylinder, or a tubular boiler placed underneath. This 
heating should occupy a period of at least three 

124 



hours. After the required temperature is reached 
in the cylinder it must be kept up for a further 
period of 60 minutes, either with or without a 
vacuum, according as it may be necessary in order 
to ensure the absorption of the specified amount of 
oil of tar. 

As soon as the filling of the impregnating cylinder 
with heated oil of tar begins, it must be connected 
with the condenser, which serves to condense all 
the aqueous vapors that escape from the wood and 
to conduct all the water of condensation into a vessel 
intended to receive it. This vessel is provided with 
a water gauge on which the amount of water evap- 
orated may be read off. 

11. PRESSING IN OF THE OIL OF TAR. 

After the drying of the wood — i. e., the removal of 
water from the wood is completed — ^the tank is 
filled completely and a pump is put into operation 
which will produce a pressure of at least 7 atmos- 
pheres (103 lbs. per sq. in.). This pressure must be 
kept up at least 30 minutes for pine or beech wood 
and 60 minutes for oak, or longer time if it shall 
prove necessary, in order to insure the absorption 
of the specified quantity of oil of tar. 

This completes the impregnation of the timber 
and the oil of tar is then drawn off. 

COMPOSITION OF THE OIL OF TAR. 

The oil of tar must be made from mineral coal tar 
and must contain not over one per cent of oils that 
boil below 125 deg. C. (257 deg. F.). The boiling 
point of the oil of tar as a whole must lie between 
150 deg. and 400 deg. C. (302 and 752 deg. F.), and 
the larger part of it, at least 75 per cent of the whole, 
must not boil below 235 deg. C. (455 deg. F.). 

At least 10 Der cent of its constituents must be 
acid dissolving in caustic soda lye of 1.15 sp. gr. 
(Oils of the creosote or carbolic acid type.) 

At 15 deg. C (59 deg. F.) the oil of tar must be 

135 



completely fluid and free from fatty constituents, so 
that when poured out on the dry end surface of a 
timber it will soak into the wood immediately and 
leave only an oily residue. It must further be free 
as possible from naphthalene and at 15 deg. C. (59 
deg. F.) must give off no naphthalene. 

It must contain no oil of specific gravity less than 
0.9 (or at least not over one per cent of such oils), 
while the specific gravity of the tar oil itself at 15 
deg. C. (59 deg. F.) must lie between 1.045 and 
1. 10. 

It must also be of such consistency that it is re- 
tained in the pores of the timber as much as pos- 
sible after impregnation. Oils made from bitumi- 
nous substances may be added to the mineral tar 
oil to an amount not exceeding 15 per cent, but the 
mixture must possess the same properties as are 
specified above for mineral tar oil. 

O. Chanute, M. W. S. E. March 21, 1900. 

THE RUPING PROCESS. 
EMULSIONS OF TAR OIL. 

Owing to the fact that tar impregnation is far the 
best, but that its general use is prevented by its high 
price, trials have been made with the view of mak- 
ing the process cheaper. 

These trials are based on the undoubtedly correct 
opinion that, considering the high antiseptic quali- 
ties of tar, only minor quantities would be sufficient 
to protect wood against decay in all its parts caoable 
of impregnation. 

The trials began with the object of introducing 
vaporized tar into the wood, but they failed merely 
because tar oil vaporizes at from 250 to 300 centi- 
grades of heat. Wood being unable to stand such 
a high temperature and because the vapor con- 
denses on the outer layers of the wood. 

Therefore the trials were changed inasmuch as 
the tar was thinned — i. e., diluted with water. 

126 



At the same time two methods have been proposed 
in this respect. 

According to the first, the wood is impregnated 
in a tar-oil emulsion obtained by mixing the tar-oil 
with a watery solution of resinous soap. The water 
of the emulsion is later removed from the wood by 
drying, the other ingredients remaining in it. In 
this emulsion the tar is distributed into innumer- 
able globulets enclosed in soap, and by this means 
prevented from reuniting. But the tar enclosed in 
this manner is hardly able to come in direct con- 
tact with the walls of the cells and therefore cannot 
produce its high antiseptic effect. 

According to the other method resinous oil is 
treated with concentrated sulphuric acid and the 
produce obtained in this manner is used as a dis- 
solving means for the tar-oil, which then can be 
mixed with water. But this is questionable, whether 
the acid has not so bad effect on the tar-oil that the 
latter loses its quality as a first-class antiseptic. 

Both the processes, however, have a common 
fault. 

In thus impregnating wood, water is the only in* 
gredient of the emulsion that penetrates into all 
parts capable of impregnation, not the tar itself. 
The globules of tar can on certain places only 
Tienetrate a few centimeters into it, owing to the 
filtering capabilities of the wood. 

How powerful the filtering qualities of wood are 
can be seen by the fact that it is capable of separa- 
ting the salts from salt solutions, which is all the 
more surprising because there does not exist any 
salt in concrete particles, as is the case with emul- 
sions. This quality of wood has been applied in 
trials to make water drinkable by pressing it through 
wood. 

Under these circumstances it should be clear to 
anybody that, as already mentioned, in impregna- 
ting with an emulsion the particles of tar are al- 
ready kept back by the upper layers of the wood and 

127 



that consequently only the water can penetrate inta 
the interior of it. 

THE PROCESS. 

According to the previous explanation a practical, 
lasting and at the same time cheap preservation of 
wood, especially of railway sleepers, telegraph poles 
and mining timber, can be effected neither by the 
noted metallic salt impregnation nor by the above 
mentioned tar impregnation. Knowing this, our 
firm tried to solve the problem by another way and 
after many attempts of the kind, our partner, M. 
Ruping — owing to the encoura^-ement of Geheimer 
Postrat Christiani — finally succeeded in inventing a 
method of tar impregnation, which is exempt from 
the faults of the other methods. 

Whilst by the former methods of tar impregnation 
the cells, pores and other cavities are entirely filled 
with tar, in consequence of which it may be called 
full-cell tar impregnation, or for shortness, full cell 
impregnation, our process is devised to do exactly 
the reverse. 

The cells are intended to remain more or less 
empty, just as is wanted, and only their walls are 
to be coated or impregnated with tar-oil, a process 
which can be called empty cell tar impregnation, or, 
for shortness, empty cell impregnation. 

Before entering upon the explanation of this new 
process we ought to shortly mention the usual tar 
impre<?nation in order to explain more definitely the 
differences between the two processes. 

In the so-called full cell impregnation the wood, 
after drying in the open air, is put into an iron 
boiler, which has to be made a vacuum, so that 
even the air enclosed in the cells of the wood be 
removed. Then the tar-oil is caused to enter the 
impregnating boiler^ and afterward the fluid is 
kept under a pressure^ of from 5 to 8 atmospheres, 
by which means it will be forced into the cells of 
the wood. Finally the pressure is taken away and 

128 



after removing the unabsorbed tar remaining in the 
boiler the process of impregnation is finished. 

In the new Ruping process the seasoned wood is 
for some time (from about a half hour to an hour) 
exposed to a pressure of 5 atmospheres in the boiler 
— F — so that all the cells must be filled with air. 

This is the principal diflference between the old 
and the new method: with the former the air was 
removed from the wood cells by vacuum, whereas on 
the contrary with the latter, the wood is filled with 
compressed air. 

Without reducing the pressure in the impregnating 
boiler F, the warmed impregnating fluid is then 
forced from the tar reservoir T into the impregna- 
ting boiler F by means of a somewhat higher pres- 
sure, say of about 5J4 atmospheres. In proportion 
to the amount of tar entering the impregnating 
boiler F, air is permitted to escape through the valve 
V, in order to make room for the required amount 
of fluid. At the same time, however, it must be 
kept in mind only to let such a quantity of air 
escape as cannot impair the consistency of the pres- 
sure of 5 atmospheres. 

When the wood in the boiler F is completely cov- 
ered with the fluid, the pressure, according to the 
dimensions and qualities of the material, is to be 
increased up to 15 atmospheres. Under this in- 
creased pressure the fluid will enter into the cells 
of the wood. 

Now, one should believe that though the violent 
advancing of the fluid (in this case of the tar) 
the compressed air contained in the wood must be 
forced into the interior of it and there form a kind 
of basin which would render an impregnation of 
this part impossible, but this, according to trials 
made on a large scale, has proved not to be true. 
Owing to the high pressure, the tar-oil, in conse- 
quence of the capalarity of the wood and the ad- 
hesion, moves along the cell walls into the inmost 
parts of the wood, soaking them entirely, by which 
the compressed air contained in the cells will be 

129 



more compressed and at the same time entirely 
enclosed by the advancing tar. 

When the material is sufficiently impregnated, the 
pressure is to be reduced and the fluid is permitted 
to go back into the reservoir T. 

The compressed air enclosed in the cells will, with 
great energy, through its expansion, force as much 
of the impregnating fluid out of the wood as does 
not stick to the cell walls. 

This is what forms the principal effect in the 
Ruping process. 

Accordingly there can remain no more fluid in 
the wood than is exactly necessary for impregnating 
or coating and soaking the cell walls, etc., which is 
the only important object in view in the preserva- 
tion of wood. 

The oozing of the superfluous tar can be still 
increased and accelerated by exposing the impreg- 
nated wood to the effects of a vacuum for some 
time. ^ Of course, in each case the pressure can be 
fixed in such a way that only the quantity of fluid, 
which is wanted, remains in the cells of the im- 
pregnated wood. 

Refer to "The Ruping Process," by Mr. M. Ru- 
ping. Patented in Germany, No. 138,933; patented 
in England, No. 6844; patented in U. S. A., No. 
709,799. 

THE HASSELMANN PROCESS. 

COST OF CHANGING BARNETT PLANT TO USE THE 
SYSTEM. 

First, and most important in cost, will be two 
large bricked and plastered cisterns to hold the solu- 
tion used. These cisterns should be 20 feet in diam- 
eter in the clear and 8 feet deep, with plank cover- 
ing about at level of the ground. These could be 
placed outside the rear of the building and will 
have to be connected with the retort to be used 
for the purpose, by a system of ample large pipe 
by which the solutions will be quickly conveyed 
back and forth. 

130 







131 



A pump of considerable size will be required in 
connection with these cisterns to discard the solu- 
tion for a new lot. It can be a light lift cheap 
form of pump. 

Second — The steam provisions you have are am- 
ple, so is the steam connections to the retort, ample; 
but I think it would be well to add another pipe 
connection, entering the lower dome through the 
3-foot plugged tap and terminating in a nozzle en- 
tering the end of an open 3-foot pipe six or ei^rht 
feet long, securely fastened to the bottom sheet of 
the retort, all to be covered with strong netting to 
prevent injury from moving the charges over it. 
The nozzle need not be over one inch diameter, 
and its action will be to cause a strong current 
lengthwise of the retort and at the same time aid 
in bringing the solution to the boiling point. (This, 
I believe, would serve a good purpose with the 
chloride solution as well in the zinc-tannin process, 
preventing the chloride from settling while it is 
quiescent under pressure.) 

For the purpose of proper agitation of the solu- 
tion in the cistern, an air pipe should be brought 
from the compressor for this purpose, say ij4 
inches. 

No pressure pumps are needed, as the pressure is 
produced by the use of live steam introduced di- 
rectly into the solution in the retort. 

The retort is charged with the solution by means 
of the vacuum and to fill the retort sufficiently the 
vacuum pump must be kept running until the filling 
is quite complete. 

Third — Two iron tanks are required for mingling 
the chemicals ; should be 10 feet diameter and 8 feet 
deep, set on the ground and connected with the cis- 
terns, so that their contents may be quickly trans- 
ferred. 

Other minor items will probably come up during 
the undertaking, but they will probably be trifling 
in cost. 

The process, as I understand, contemplates two 

132 



distinct treatments or boilings to be separated by an 
interval of two to three days that the first applica- 
tion have time to disseminate through the piece; 
consequently eight or ten runs of the first can be 
made, then the other can follow. If plenty of cars 
are at hand, the charge can be held on the cars, 
otherwise they must be unloaded and reloaded.^ 

The first application consists of the salts of iron 
(presumably Fe-2), sulphate of aluminum (pre- 
sumably alum.) and sulphate of copper (presumably 
blue vitriol), in the proportion of one of the chem- 
icals to 30 of water (presumably in weight). 

The second application is composed of calcium 
chloride (Calc-2) and milk of lime (calcium hy- 
drate), in the proportion of one pint to 50 of the 
former and one to 40 of the latter. 

REPORT OF THE HASSELMANN SYSTEM 

OF IMPREGNATION OF TIMBER. 

OPERATION. 

First, the timber is loaded on cars and put in the 
retorts, same as other systems; the retorts are then 
closed and a vacuum is pumped for one hour or 
more; after which the solution is turned in with the 
vacuum^ still on. When retort is very near filled 
the main valve is closed, and live steam is turned 
into the solution and distributed through by a per- 
forated pipe; the solution is then heated to 245 
degrees to 260 degrees Fahr., which will indicate a 
gauge pressure of about 35 lbs. The timber is then 
held in this boiling solution for a time from two to 
three hours, and then the solution is drawn off; or, 
as in practice, Mr. Weinier, the man in charge, says 
is changed^ from one retort to the other in waiting, 
then the timber is taken from retort and is ready 
for shipment. The process is very simple. 

SOLUTION OF BATH. 
Is a mixture of one and one-half per cent solu- 
133 



tion of sulphate of copper, a one-half per cent solu- 
tion of sulphate of aluminum, and potassium of sul- 
phate, in proportion accordingly to the condition of 
the timber, which seems to be one of the secrets of 
the system. 

"THE CREO-RESINATE PROCESS." 

This process* differs from the ordinary creosoting 
process in that instead of using live steam to ster- 
ilize the blocks, which are 4 by 4 by 8 inches, dry 
heat applied at a temperature of 250 degrees Fahren- 
heit, and under pressure of one hundred pounds to 
the square inch is used. The air pressure prevents 
the checking of the block, and the heat and pres- 
sure are held until the center of the blocks reaches 
212 degrees, thereby destroying all germ life in the 
timber, which is the primary cause of decay. The 
heat is then reduced to 150 degrees, after which a 
vacuum of 26 inches is created, under which the 
cylinder is run full of creo-resinate mixture, which 
consists of 50 per cent creosote oil, 48 per cent resin 
and 2 per cent formaldehyde. Pressure is then ap- 
plied by means of force pumps, and the mixture is 
forced into the blocks until every pore is pene- 
trated and 22 pounds per cubic foot of the mixture 
is absorbed. The blocks are then run into another 
cylinder and treated with a solution of lime at a 
temperature of 212 degrees, and under pressure of 
150 pounds to the square inch. They are allowed 
to cool off gradually, and are then ready for mar- 
ket. 

Note. — The author has examined specimens of 
paving blocks treated by this process and would think 
it a very good process for paving blocks. No infor- 
mation as to mode or cost of treating has been ob- 
tained. 



*Controlled and used by the United States Wood 
Preserving Company, New York. 



134 



THE VALUE OF TREATMENT OF TIMBER 

It is our desire here to give a conservative view, 
as we in searching for the truth can hardly afford to 
deceive ourselves or the interested public and those 
especially concerned. On the other hand, it would 
be equally foolish to depreciate results when we have 
the means to arrive at what is demonstrated as 
probably near the truth; as near as human intellect 
can discern and near enough to be accepted as prac- 
tically true. 

What is here advanced is the summing up of ob- 
servations and study of the subject. This investiga- 
tion has required many months of close study, during 
which the closest and most searching analysis of the 
recorded results with the various collateral influences, 
have been considered and allowed for. To the manage- 
ment of the A. T. & S. F. Railway Company is due 
the highest degree of credit for the careful and com- 
prehensive record that has been kept and to this in a 
great measure is due the conclusion now proposed to 
be given. The record here dealt with closes with the 
record of 1902, none later being available, seventeen 
years from the start in 1885, an elapse of time suffi- 
cient to give something sufficiently definite on which 
to base measurably reliable conclusions. Unfortu- 
nately the record of tie removals was not taken up until 
1897, twelve years after the first ties were treated, so 
that the number of ties failing during that interval 
will necessarily have to be estimated. 

The removals of ties treated in the years subse- 
quent to 1897, down to 1900, however, will give us an 
approximate rate of removal in the earlier years that 
will guide somewhat. By means of this record a close 
approximate is made of the percentage of the treated 
ties removed each year. We take it for granted that 
measurably correct conclusions can be derived from 
the mean of a larg^ number of results for the same 

135 



lapse of time, and further, that causes acting as does 
the decay of timber under similar conditions, in various 
periods during its history will, if graphically recorded, 
form a curve. In line with this we have first laid 
down a line showing the percentage of ties removed 
each year, being the mean for all the years recorded, 
that portion not covered by the record being derived 
from the mean of removals in the early years of those 
subsequently treated. The bottom line of the table 
shows the percentages so derived, and the curved line 
"a" on the diagram the same graphically disposed. 

We find, however, that according to this the ties 
treated in 1885 should have been exhausted in the 
seventeenth year, while it has been found by some- 
what extended inspection that many of the 1885 ties 
are still in service and good for many years longer. 
There are probably 20,000 of these ties in yet, cer- 
tainly 15,000, hence we are obliged to reduce the esti- 
mated percentages for the earlier years where we 
have no record, and apply it to the lo85 ties alone, as 
shown by the line *' b " on the diagram. A careful and 
extended inspection of the condition of all the ties 
so far as extended shows that those treated in the 
earlier years are giving a better record than most of 
the subsequent years, so far as now determined. It 
is not for me to say here what are the reasons, but the 
result as shown in the present conditions of the ties of 
the various years is patent. The 1885 ties and those 
treated in the three or four years subsequent (1886, 
1887 and 1888) are almost identical in general appear- 
ance, with condition as to soundness almost in the 
same ratio, and can safely be expected to give a rec- 
ord eventually about equal to those of 1885. They 
are characterized by the manner in which decay pro- 
gresses, commencing at the surface in contact with 
the earth, and continuing, the fiber being destroyed 
regularly in succession as it passes upward, leaving 
many of those ties now fourteen to seventeen years' 
service, with almost half of its timber sound enough 
to make good fuel. 

Those of subsequent years show that decay spreads 
through the body of the tie at a much earlier period. 

136 



Whether this is due to poorer quality of timber, leav- 
ing the timber on the ground without being piled to 
dry, or to improper or hasty treatment, cannot now 
be said. The two former are the most probable 
causes, however. 

That the results here shown by these earlier treated 
ties should be taken as a sample of what can be done 
seems reasonable. All but a few of these ties were 
treated by the "Wellhouse" or Zinc-tannin process, 
and have given a record that should not have been 
lowered in subsequent treatment. Here we have up to 
1900 enough treated ties to lay 1,383 miles of track, 
3,872,500 ties treated, removals in same time at an 
average of 8 year or 11,000 year miles, equal to 
961,654 ties, or 87.4 ties per annum per mile, the mean 
number of ties removed in ordinary practice being 
from 250 to 300 where ordinary run of ties is used. 

In this tabulation all ties removed, whether on 
account of decay or of breakage from derailments or 
from premature removal in relaying rails or in ballast- 
ing are included. It is well known in practice that 
many ties that may still serve for several years are, 
after being disturbed by relaying rails or in ballast- 
ing, removed to give place to new ties. The propor- 
tion of removals for other causes than decay is 
estimated at not less than five per cent and may be 
as high as ten per cent, but as this loss is common 
in all cases, it is deemed best not to consider this in 
connection with this matter, but to include them all 
in this estimate. 

Right here it will be proper to survey the subject 
of inspection with reference to the " personal equa- 
tion," that effect that creates a variety of impressions 
almost as varied as the number of observers. The 
writer believes that the searcher must trust to ex- 
tended and repeated observation until the mind has 
absorbed and assimilated every aspect of the subject 
so that instinct is trained, as it often becomes, in, for 
instance, the recognition of the great variety of tim- 
bers, as often occurs with experienced lumbermen, in 
which case he can unerringly name each variety 
without being able to put this description into words. 

137 



This is found to be equally true in recognizing the 
various conditions shown during the years of ex- 
posure by the ties in track. Verifying this is the 
corroborating experience of others, who have aided 
much in this investigation. 

In making the recent inspection of the Santa Fe 
it was found that Mr. Daniel Elliott, the roadmaster 
who had been on his division ever since a short time 
previous to the commencement of using the treated 
ties, could walk along the track and almost invariably 
name the year the tie was treated without looking at 
the brand of the stamping hammer. On the other 
hand, a large majority of those that had equally good 
opportunity to observe could see little or no difference 
between one and another. In one case a section 
foreman who confessed to have been engaged on a 
section for over ten years, where treated ties were in 
the track from some previous year, to the extent of 
twenty-five per cent, was unaware of their presence 
and could tell nothing as to their value compared with 
cedar ties along side of them, which were cut one- 
quarter of the depth by the rail, while the treated ties 
were almost invariably sound and but little rail-worn. 
We thus can easily conceive how the value of the 
results can be beclouded by lack of careful intelligent 
study. 

In the inspection of treated ties care has been 
taken to gather all the information possible from 
those treated by the same process outside of that on 
the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Those 
treated at Chicago by the Chicago Tie Works and 
distributed on various portions of the Chicago, Rock 
Island and Pacific, some of which have been in serv- 
ice for fifteen to seventeen years, the result seems to 
be equally good as those on the Santa Fe. The 
methods used in treatment are essentially the same 
as those introduced at Las Vegas in 1885, and it is be- 
lieved will make just as good a showing. Some 
samples of treated hemlock on the C. R. I. & P. and 
also in the Rock Island and Peoria Railroad with a 
number of samples from the A. T. & S. F. were ex- 
hibited at the fast spring meeting of the American 

138 



Railway Engineers and Maintenance of Way Asso- 
ciation in which the fiber of the timber was still sound 
at fourteen to sixteen years. 

The treatment of Texas pine commenced in 1897. 
After six years of exposure, some begin to show de- 
cay, but this is mainly confined to the lowland short 
leaf pine (Loblolly). A careful inspection of two 
miles of the Dallas branch showed one in sixty of 
these ties to be decayed so as to justify removal. The 
roadmaster, however, thinks that a much larger pro- 
portion are failing. It is, however, too early to draw 
anything like definite conclusions in this case. The 
climatic conditions there are not so favorable as in 
New Mexico or Colorado. Ties made from this kind 
of timber in Eastern Texas have been known to rot 
so as to be worthless in two years and not one in a 
thousand fit to put in track in three years. 

On the same line at six years, the treated ties 
which were cut from heart timber or well matured 
trees were very much better than the Loblolly pole 
ties before mentioned. It will be seen that a small 
percentage of the treated ties in New Mexico give 
out in the sixth year and scarcely any before that, 
while from the recent inspection some of the 1885 ties 
will be in service from appearance up to nearly 
twenty-four years. 

The value of the treatment by the "Wellhouse'* 
process must be conceded, taking such records as 
are now available both as to this process and that of 
the Burnett or simple chloride of zinc, to be the best 
probably in proportion of near twelve years for the 
former and eight years for the latter, or fifty per cent 
in favor of the former. It must, however, be remem- 
bered that the statistics are also subject to the *'human 
(not personal) equation'* and that it may be years 
before this question can be settled, but, to go back to 
the main question of the economic value of either; 
the one's relation to the other, depending as it does 
somev/hat on climatic conditions may be indetermi- 
nate for the present. 

Whether it is determined or not, the reduction of 
renewals from **twenty-five per cent to five," as once 



stated by a railroad official who has been in a position 
all the time to judge as well as anybody living, even 
if proved to be too sanguine, which it does not appear 
to be at the present time, and in view of the foregoing 
figures, should go far to settle the question of economy. 

The renewals now seem to be under four per cent, 
or about 100 ties per mile per year. It is, however, a 
fact that the untreated mountain pine ties first laid 
in New Mexico, did come out at the ratio stated 
and the tie question at that time was such as to appall 
the management. 

The appearance of the treated timber is found to 
guide somewhat as to the condition as to progress of 
decay and may guide in determining the reasons of 
failure, whether due to failure to carry out the proper 
treatment or to other causes. 

As before stated, the 1885 to 1888 ties are char- 
acterized by a certain freedom from longitudinal and 
end checks, while those of subsequent years have the 
checking quite marked, giving the tie the appearance 
of being split into many strips. When these ties are 
taken out they go into strips sure enough. Another 
feature is the manner in which the decay progresses. 
A case in point will illustrate the way that decay 
progressed in the 1885-1888 ties. A large number of 
these ties after three years in track in one marked 
case, were broken in two pieces by the engine driver 
wheel flange in a bad derailment. Examination 
showed a layer of decayed wood on the bottom and 
up the side as far as the earth was in contact, about 
one-quarter of an inch in thickness in which the wood 
was entirely decayed, the balance of the tie remain- 
ing entirely free from appearance of decay, not even 
incipient. This applied to every tie, nearly a hundred 
in number. 

Quite a number of the ties treated the same year, 
1885, or the two or three following years, when re- 
moved in the course of the recent renewals after from 
fourteen to seventeen years' service, showed the 
same method of progress of decay, i. e., from the 
bottom upward so that about half of the volume of 



140 



the tie was gone, but the remaining upper half was 
still sound enough for good fuel. 

Ties treated in some of the subsequent years 
showed decay permeating the body of the tie irregu- 
larly and the tie when removed would go all to pieces. 

The mean life is that which represents the sum of 
the life of all divided by the number, and this 
method is here used and is evidently the only prac- 
tical measure. 

Perhaps the best illustration of this manner of 
progress of decay will be the facts as they occur. 

The year in which the ties are put in the track is 
the starting point. The year in which the first ties 
fail is another step, the rate from there on is the curve 
of failure and the year at which the last are removed 
is the culmination. It is here attempted to place a 
close approximate value to these various terms. If 
every piece was exactly alike in texture, density or 
soundness, all should fail at once, but this is never 
so. It would be very interesting to know what the 
curve representing the life of the untreated timber 
of various kinds really is. This so far seems never 
to have been recorded so far as we know, and here 
is a difficulty we encounter when comparing the 
treated ties with the same untreated. ^ The life of the 
Rocky Mountain pine has been variously estimated 
at from a mean of from live years down to four or 
even below, and the fact, according to some of those 
best versed, is that four and a half years is about 
right. Then if the " Wellhouse " treatment gives a 
mean of near twelve years, we have nearly trebled 
the life. Mr. Elliott is quite sure that this estimate 
is a conservative one, and the figures so far indicate 
nearer fourteen years than twelve. 

The Wellhouse process, it is claimed, derives its 
advantage over the simple chloride of zinc (Burnett) 
process, in this, that the leatheroid produced on the 
surface and in the end pores of the wood by the com- 
bination of the glue and the tannic acid retards the 
ingress of water. That it does so seems to be quite 
well authenticated. 

In the simple process of immersing one sample 

HI 



block of wood after being treated and a similar block 
say from the same tie without treating will corrobo- 
rate this, it being found that the untreated block will 
at first absorb the water the most rapidly, although 
eventually the treated block will absorb the most. 
The latter effect seems to be due to physical changes 
in the wood during treatment, the solubles in the 
timber having been dissolved and removed by the 
cooking. 

Critics claim that the deposit of the glue is so 
superficial that it cannot do much good. It is true 
that owing to the viscosity of the glue it cannot pene- 
trate the wood to any appreciable depth on the sides, 
but yet it does penetrate to a considerable depth at 
the ends by means of the sap ducts. It is the result 
that justifies its use, however, after all, and no spe- 
cious theorizing can upset the facts. 

The writer has felt it a duty to embody the result 
of observation and study of this matter of timber 
preservation, using the utmost candor, giving facts as 
they seem to be well authenticated. 

Time and further experience may show some of 
these conclusions to be fallacious and as regards the 
figures given and the resulting conclusions and de- 
ductions may prove sanguine but what the figures say 
cannot be gainsaid without future data only to be 
gained by the lapse of time. For instance the figures 
seem to show that the mean life of the treated ties 
shown might be twenty years. 

This is, however, not conclusive as the next few 
years may necessitate as much greater renewal of 
ties from causes such as heavier rolling stock, traffic, 
etc., or by reason of larger renewals due to lax re- 
moval previous to this time. 

A great many ties may be still in track that should 
be out or poorer quality of timber may only be avail- 
able owing to the exhaustion of the supply of the bet- 
ter class of timber. It is most probable that the Santa 
Fe estimate of eleven to twelve years is a near ap- 
proach to the true life of the pine tie, although, as 
Mr. Mudge properly says, the longer mean life of the 
later renewals will tend to increase the general 
average. 

142 



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145 



NOTES AND EXPLANATIONS. 

(a) This, No. 44, is a typical specimen of the Texas Loblolly 
Pine. The hewn pole ties at Somerville and at Greenville are 
largely of this character. 

(h) No. 55 is short leaf Texas Pine, mostly heart timber, but 
havinq: what is termed ** red heart," a condition in which three 
or four inches of the timber encircling the heart of the tree 
has reached a dead and softening condition, in which the spring 
wood is wasted quite away and the solid layers of the summer 
wood much impaired. Specifications should and usually do 
reject timber so affected. 

(c) No. 66 is a three-inch section of a New Mexico Mountain 
Pine, mostly heart timber, which was treated in 1885, the tie being 
in track over thirteen years and only removed on account of 
rail wear. At the time it was immersed, it was seemingly as 
sound and strong as the day it was cut from the tree. It was 
treated by the Wellhouse process. 

(d) No. 32 is cut from the middle of a 38- foot pile, much the 
same character as No. 44, Loblolly Texas Pine, in which nearly 
thirty pounds of creosote oil had been injected per cubic foot. 
Although not immersed for several months after treating, the 
lighter portions of the oil readily gave place to the water, smear- 
ing the surface of the block and floating on the surface of the 
water. 

(e) Nos. 33 and 34 were blocks cut from chord pieces of the 
Isletta (Atlantic and Pacific Railway) some time after the re- 
moval of the bridge, to be replaced by a steel structure, after a 
service of over twelve years. 

The specimens were cut from the end of the chord piece where 
packed. 

This timber was treated after framing and before erecting 
and was treated by the Wellhouse process. 

(f ) Nos. 50 and 52 were untreated blocks of southern yellow 
pine, companion pieces of Nos, 51 and 53, the latter being 
treated by the Creo-resin process as paving blocks. The same 
effect of the absorption of the water as in the case of No. 32 
(d) the creosote oil and also the resins being forced out during 
the process. The difference in the specific gravity is probably 
the measure of the percentage of creosote oil and resin injected 
into the wood and the difference in the amount of moisture in 
the blocks at the time of immersion is a means for guessing the 
amount forced out by the water, although not all, as the surface 
of the blocks were well smeared over with the exuded resin to 
such an extent as to render it mere guesswork. 

(g) The anomaly of the greater weight of the sap timber 
over that of heart timber in case of Nos. 26 and 27, is accounted 
for by the superabundance of resins in No. 27. 

(h) Nos. 54 and 55 are specimen blocks of dead pine supposed 
to have been killed by a peculiar disease or insect. The timber 
seems strong and sound, but largely discolored, the discoloration 
being greatest at the outside next the bark and gradually de- 
creasing toward the heart, leaving the latter in some cases per- 
fectly sound. In transverse strength it seems to be unimpaired 
but under compression lengthwise, its strength is 20 to 30 per 
cent less than live, sound timber. 

146 



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150 



ABSORPTIVE POWERS OF TIMBER. 

A wide range of experience in treating timber for 
the purpose of preservation from decay, or at least 
for prolongation of its life by resistance of decay, has 
taught that the physical structure and condition of 
the timber is important in connection therewith. 

It is in view of this that the investigations embodied 
in the tables (A) (B) and (C), are compiled. Much 
expense and labor has attended this work, prolonged 
as it has been through several consecutive years. 
Much valuable assistance has been rendered by 
various civil engineers and, as the work will be and 
is now being continued, further interest is invited for 
which due credit will be given. Without question, 
much can be learned in this way that is important to 
the operator of works now and to be engaged in the 
timber treating business, by a careful study of this 
matter. It will aid the judgment of the operator in 
adapting the process to the character of the timber 
coming to him and result in an economy of both time 
and expense. 

EXPLANATION OF METHOD. 

For the test of absorptive powers of the timber by 
immersion, the timber is procured cut to length as 
nearly as practicable, four inches, so as to present the 
best possible condition for the action of the capilla- 
ries. The blocks are first dried to nominal dryness, 
that is, to such degree of dryness that the wood will 
absorb or give off the moisture of the atmosphere suc- 
cessively as the air changes. When this is not prac- 
ticable, the specimen is dried to this condition after 
it has gone through the immersion and the moisture 
at the initial time is determined and added to the ab- 
sorption as shown as the total at thirty days. The 
thirty-day column is the quantities for comparison. 
The samples are weighed, the initial weight being 
noted, then immersed in pure Lake Michigan water 
and securely weighted down and there kept continu- 
ously except during the bnef time used in weighing 

151 



at intermediate times until the thirty days have ex- 
pired. The volume of the block is determined by 
measurements and by the further check of weight in 
water at the close of the test. The unit weight of 
water is taken for 65 to 70 deg. Fahr., being the uni- 
form temperature of the laboratory, at .5771 oz. per 
cu. inch or 62.327 lbs. per cu. foot. 

OBSERVATIONS. 

It is not the purpose here in the limited condition 
of these investigations to go into an analysis of results 
in an extended way, and only such points as bring 
out the principles hinted at as are most noticeable as 
relates to their application to the treatment of timber. 

Perhaps no way will better illustrate the effective- 
ness of the modern plant than a comparison of the 
results attained with these thirty-day tests with the 
ordinary one and a half or two hours exposure of the 
timber to the impregnating solution in the retort. In 
the one case a block four inches long, exposing all 
the natural sap ducts of the timber directly to the 
entrance of the water in the first case, whereas in the 
latter case the timber never less than eight feet long 
lacks this facility in a high degree, yet it absorbs 
more in that brief space of time, and an amount in 
volume at least 75 per cent of the total voids of the 
timber. In this connection it must be remembered 
that during the process of steaming that a considera- 
ble amount of the condensed steam remains in the 
timber after the vacuum is drawn and before the so- 
lution is introduced, and it is altogether probable that 
this with the solution absorbed, fully occupies every 
bit of the voids of the timber so that to put in more 
would be a physical impossibility. A comparison of 
these results at thirty days corresponds very nearly 
with the absorption obtained with the same timber at 
the various treating works now in operation, and it is 
believed to be of sufficient value to offer to those in- 
terested. 



152 



THE THREE-MOVEMENT PROCESS. 

The Wellhouse process as taught and practiced in 
1885 consisted of two applications, one of the chloride 
of zinc (one and one-half per cent strong) with the 
gelatine (one-half per cent) incorporated with the 
chloride. This was applied to the timber in the retort 
under 100 pounds hydraulic pressure for two and a 
half hours. Following the chloride, the tannin solu- 
tion (one-half of one per cent strong) was applied un- 
der like pressure and conditions. No provisions were 
made to increase the temperature of these solutions 
above what was acquired by contact with the hot tim- 
ber in the retort. 

Under these conditions, with a one and one-half 
per cent solution, the Rocky Mountain pine absorbed 
from one-quarter to one-half pound of pure chloride 
per cubic foot, the former for sawed heart pine and 
the latter for hewn pole ties. This practice was in- 
troduced by Wellhouse and Mr. Joseph P. Card, M. 
Am. Soc. C. E., at that time associated with Mr. Well- 
house, at the time that the Las Vegas Timber Pre- 
serving Works were installed, and has been followed, 
with slight exception, in all the work at those works. 
The results are perhaps as well determined and defi- 
nite as in case of any known process and practice 
and perhaps the most satisfactory in results of any 
except the more expensive process by creosote oil. 

To distinguish this practice from others consisting 
mainly of a modification of this, we will call this the 
"two-movement " process. 

There are several modifications suggested by sub- 
sequent experience, among which are: 

1st. Application of the gelatine in a separate so- 
lution, thus requiring another movement, hence the 
designation *' three-movement." 

2d. The application of much higher temperature 
to the various solutions. 

3d. The increase of the strength of the chloride 
sohition used to the end that a greater quantity of the 
chemical be injected. 



153 



Practically, these three points cover those of great- 
est moment at this time, and we will take them up 
in the order given. 

The grounds upon which the three-movement 
practice is advocated is that with the gelatine added 
to the chloride solution, the former being of a viscous 
nature, retards the ingress of the chloride and renders 
it difficult to get enough into the timber. 

It is true of the gelatine that it is impossible to re- 
duce it to such consistency as that it will penetrate 
the solid parts of the wood. It can never be reduced 
to a true solution so that it will be carried into the 
wood by the water in which it is dissolved, and the 
greatest possible penetration is where it follows the 
more or less open ducts of the wood, or cracks and 
checks that result in or during the drying of the tim- 
ber. The addition of chemicals to cut or render the 
gelatine as fluid as possible, or the application of a 
high degree of temperature, are the agents that will 
induce the greatest penetration. If the gelatine is 
used in simple solution, the heat is the agent most 
effective, and without the heat the glue will spread on 
the surface of the timber like a coat of grease or 
paint, and very slightly penetrating the pores or 
checks of the timber. It is equally true that when 
the gelatine is incorporated with the chloride, that the 
latter helps to hold in solution. It also follows, that 
the large volume of the chloride solution absorbed 
(about ten times that of either that of the gelatine or 
tannin when applied alone), that the glue would be 
more thoroughly introduced in the surface of the tim- 
ber than is possible if applied separately. 

It is claimed to be possible, too, that if introduced 
incorporated with the chloride, that a portion of the 
gelatine will penetrate beyond where it will be 
reached by the tannic acid, and therefore it will be 
left in the wood as a seed for decay on account of its ex- 
treme perishable nature. When the tannic acid is pure 
it is as thin as water and is a solvent in the true sense, 
and will penetrate as far as the water goes. Then if 
we cipher a little, using every day experience as to 



154 



the amount of the tannin solution that must enter the 
timber under the 100 pounds pressure, we find that 
the timber must be penetrated nearly one inch over 
its whole surface; more where pores and checks offer 
free access and less where solid and compact wood 
prevents. 

The fact that the high results were attained under 
the process as initiated by Mr. Wellhouse himself, 
and the further fact that by proper means applied, 
almost any desired quantity of the chloride can be in- 
jected under the two-movement process, and in less 
time for the whole treatment of a charge of timber, 
would seem to be a sufficient answer. 



Note. — Since the foregoing notes were written the 
writer has had some experiences with timbers of the 
Pacific slope. The fir and the tamarack, especially 
the latter, is impregnated with difficulty, the volume 
of absorption being meager as compared to the 
western and southern pines, hence if high amount of 
chloride is desired, unusual means must be resorted 
to. While it has not yet been satisfactorily proven 
that the glue does reduce the amount of absorption 
of the chloride, yet in view of this possibility, the 
separate application of the glue may be justifiable. 
With these exceptions there is not sufficient reason to 
prolong the process for the separate application of 
the glue. 

'^ A careful test at Greenville, Tex., showed no ap- 
preciable retardation of the absorption of the chloride 
by the presence of the glue in the chloride solution. 
This is true wherever the open grained timber is 
treated, notably the pines of Texas, Colorado and 
New and Old Mexico. 



155 



INCREASE OF STRENGTH OF SOLUTION. 

We have seen that heart timber with one-quarter 
pound of the chloride per cubic foot of timber when 
in the shape of a 6 in. x 8 in. sawed tie, resulted in a 
measurably sound tie after it had become useless 
from rail wear. We may therefore conclude that a 
less am^ount would have served equally well. Then 
we find that the pole tie, mostly sap, having one-third 
of a pound, has its usefulness prolonged from two to 
three times the life of an untreated tie of the same 
character. 

Then why increase the cost of the chloride fifty 
per cent simply to make sure to get in enough? 

Let us examine the philosophy of the process. It 
consists of three essential parts or effects. First, the 
steaming, then the impregnation and lastly the plug- 
ging up of the outer part of the timber by which the 
antiseptic introduced is protected from waste. The 
first frees the timber from those juices that cause the 
inception of decay and which feed it after it has com- 
menced, the second introduces the antiseptic proper- 
ties which, while present in the timber, effectually 
prevent decay, and the third aids in retaining and pre- 
venting waste of the preserving properties. 

Not all, by any means, depends upon the antiseptic. 
The steaming must be prolonged sufficiently to allow 
the heat to reach the center of the piece, but if this is 
not done, there will be a section at the center of the 
tie in which the objectionable juices of the timber will 
remain and which the antiseptic, when introduced, 
both by the steam and by the antiseptic must be had, 
otherwise the work is imperfectly done. The permea- 
tion by the steam is the paramount result to be 
secured and even should the amount of the antiseptic 
be reduced by oversteaming, yet, its permeation is 
more complete and a little less well distributed, is 
better than much more confined to the outer portions 
of the piece. While a stronger solution may put m 



156 



the desired pounds, yet such practice cannot be 
characterized except as waste. 

Fifty per cent increase in the amount of chloride 
can be figured and amounts to a sum that it is not 
cared to name, and if it is unnecessary, would not be 
justified by anything but "speculative reasons," which 
would hardly pass with business men. 

GREATER AMOUNT OF HEAT. 

As before stated, little attention was paid to the 
temperature of the two solutions then used. Later 
investigations by experienced observers have strongly 
impressed the conviction that heat is a very active 
element, not only in its application to the charge in 
the shape of steam by which the saps of the wood are 
dissolved and expelled and the timber prepared for 
the free ingress of the solutions, but in the shape of 
increased temperature to the various solutions as cre- 
ating more favorable conditions for the desired and 
necessary chemical actions. In using the two-m.ove- 
ment process the heating of the chloride solution is 
important from the fact that with it is carried the gel- 
atine to which high degree of temperature is neces- 
sary for best results. Where the gelatine solution is 
used simple, high temperature is absolutely necessary. 
With the two-movement process the temperature of 
the chloride solution keeps measurably high from 
the heat derived from the steamed timber, hence less 
heating appliances are necessary. The tannin solu- 
tion requires some heat to promote its chemical com- 
bination with the gelatine though not so great a degree 
but its temperature should be controlled as well as 
that of the others. 

The improved heating coil for the solution tank 
shown on page 25 and the retort coil, page 118, en- 
ables the operator to fully control the temperature so 
that 150° to 180° F. can be secured, and the retort coil 
will bring the creosote oil to the boiling point, at 190° 
to 200° F. 



157 



DOES CHEMICAL. TREATMENT OF TIES INCREASE 

THE HARDNESS OF THE WOOD AND THE 

HOLDING POWER OF THE SPIKE ? 



J. E. M'NBIIi, B. M., SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA R. R. 

Report of a committee presented before the 19th annual 

convention of the Roadmasters' and Maintenance 

of Way Association, Washington, D. C, 

Oct. 8-10, 1901. 

This paper refers only to the zinc- tannin or Wellhouse 
process of timber preservation, and the committee to whom 
the subject has been assigned, has made several tests with 
the treated ties available, and has received the written 
opinions of persons in different parts of the country who 
have had experience in the treatment and use of treated 
timber. 

The consensus of opinion, supported by the tests made 
by your committee, is that treatment does not increase the 
hardne^j of the wood, but does increase its density and 
transverse crushing strength in proportion to the amount of 
treating material absorbed. But, while the timber is not 
hardened by the treatment, it is made more flexible and 
tough, and will, by reason of the increased density of the 
wood and action of the chemicals used, prevent the rail from 
cutting into the ties, in proportion to the amount of preserva- 
tive absorbed, or about 30 per cent in coarse grained pine. 

Common mountain pine, such as is found in New Mexico 
and Arizona, now largely used as tie timber on western lines, 
is an open grained, coarse wood, and absorbs, when treated, 
about 30 per cent of the preservative. Close grained, firm 
timber absorbs less of the chemicals than does the open 
grained soft wood, and is, therefore, proportionately less 
affected by the treatment. 

We find that the spikes, when driven, damage the fiber 
of the timber less in treated than in untreated timber. The 
liolding power of the spike is not noticeably increased at the 
time the tie is treated, but increases as the timber dries out, 
until at the end of from six to nine months, when the timber 
has become seasoned, a pine tie which has absorbed the 
asual amount of chloride of zinc, tannin and glue, will have 
/ncreased the holding power of the track spikes not less than 
30D3r cent. 

158 




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159 



ROLLING BEARING FOR JOURNALS OF 

TRAM CARS. 

TIMBER TREATING PLANT. 

The impossibility of preserving any oil lubricant in 
consequence of the high degree of heat to which the 
cars are exposed during steaming, suggests the appli- 
cation of the rolling bearing. The drawing here deline- 
ated is one of perhaps many plans for its application. 
It has the element of simplicity which should prevail 
throughout the whole car. 

With what degree of success it will cover the diffi- 
culty can only be determined by trial, both as to ease 
of draught and of standing the wear. The wheels on 
these cars are necessarily of small diameter, as it is of 
the first importance that the area of the load be as 
near as possible to the full area of the retort, hence 
a reduction of two inches can be made without appre- 
ciably increasing the draught, then a corresponding 
gain is made in increase of the possible loading. 

The cars as now made for the 72 inch (dia.) retort, 
have wheels ten inches in diameter and two and a 
quarter inch axle with the ordinary provisions for oil- 
ing, which are only available after the charge is 
drawn. The fact is that if the diameters of the wheels 
were considerably reduced, they would sled and not 
turn at all, and the whole load would be sledded out. 

When, as heretofore, a powerful wince is used, this 
heavy draught has not been so appreciable, but now 
that other and perhaps better kinds of power are 
being sought, it becomes necessary to meet it. 

JtLlectricity and compressed air now vie for a place 
or means of power with probability in favor of the 
latter eventually, both for the yard wince and the 
locomotor for distant yard service. The steam loco- 
motive being ruled out by danger of sparks in a large 
collection of material in the yard, and also for operat- 
ing the wince owing to the difficulty of conveying 
steam so far. Electricity is well adapted to both the 
wince and the yard locomotor. Equally well can the 
compressed air be applied to each of these purposes. 

160 



While the latter is more prompt in responding and 
better in consequence for moving the charge to or 
from the retort than the electric motor, the two in 
common have their limitation in the amount of trac- 
tion they can command. For charging or discharg- 
ing, the wince is transcendently the best adapted, as 
this should be done with the greatest care or otherwise 
serious damage may result to the retort and attach- 
ments. The charge including the tram cars will 
weigh more than the empty retort, hence if the engi- 
neer of the motor is obliged to make a run to get his 
charge in, serious damage is almost sure to result 
first or last. With the wince a stop within a few 
inches is practicable. It is claimed by the manufac- 
turer of the air motor that their locomotors are equally 
under control. As regards the electric motor it is not. 
In any case, a remedy for the heavy draught of the 
tram train is being called for and must be provided. 

The relative merits and cost of installation of 
these two means of power are as yet unsettled but 
probably will be settled in the near future, as each 
has its advocates; and really the best method, and 
about the only one, will be that of results after trying. 
It appears, however, at this time that the compressed 
air is both the best adapted and the cheapest to 
install and to operate. 

The compressed air motor seems the best in the 
respect that its installment can all be placed in the 
ground, its feeding points so located as to always be 
in easy reach when the motor needs to recharge, and 
the motor is free to go quickly to any part of the yard 
as needed, whereas the electric motor can only oper- 
ate where the tracks are wired. For the wince, the 
electric power is an ideal one as is also the com- 
pressed air. One difficulty in using the compressed 
air is that the high power necessary to operate the 
locomotor is unsuited to operate the wince, or so 
at least was apprehended, but later this has been 
overcome by using the compressor that is used to 
move the solutions. 

The C, B. & Q. R. R., at their works at Sheridan, 
Wyoming, are now doing this quite successfully, thus 

161 




2 



162 



doing away with the necessity of a special engine for 
the lower pressure. 



THE PROPER PROPORTION FOR 
THE RETORT. 

In the first place the diameter of the retort should 
be such as to receive the car of the most convenient 
dimensions for loading and unloading. The most 
common diameter is that of even six feet which 
receives a car the load of which will be near six feet 
from ground level, which is about as high as men 
can load economically. The cars best adapted to this 
service must be as light as practicable and strong, 
above all, strong, and as simple in construction as 
possible. In proportioning the car all these requisites 
must balance as nearly as possible. 

Any effort to strengthen by increase of weight is 
likely to defeat its purpose, as in use these cars 
receive much harsh handling that is made still more 
destructive from the added weight. 

The door for sealing the retort would have to be 
stronger in all its parts if the diameter is enlarged, 
and the door, if self sealing, is quite an important 
part of the cost, and when adapted to one dimension, 
and that the most suitable, any change is to be 
deprecated. 

Much has been said in favor of the bolted door, but 
a little observation must satisfy the observer of the 
superiority of the " Spider Door," both for economy 
of time and labor. 

A retort of this diameter is amply strong to stand 
the service, both for the necessary pressure and for 
its stability in form. 

The length can be made to suit the conditions or 
fancy, but should not exceed 120 feet and may be 
anything down to 40 feet. 



163 



SHOULD TRAM CARS HAV^ COUPLING ? 

While recognizing the necessity of keeping up with 
the times, the fact that the tram cars have heretofore 
been handled without difficulty without the coupling 
appliances, there seems to prevail an impression 
abroad that the omission of these appliances is a 
grave one. Why ? 

The only seeming result where couplings have 
been provided, is that their use is neglected and a 
lot of surplus chains are around in the way. The 
fact that the cars with loads or without can be pushed 
ahead with any power, or can be drawn by means of 
a suitable cable, even to the charging and discharging 
of the retort, seems to point to lack of any necessity 
for them. 

The provision of light cables of about the length of 
the retort, any train of loads or of empties can be 
hauled safely by the motor over any part of the yard. 
The same is true with any lesser number of cars. 

Perhaps ninety-nine per cent of the labor in con- 
nection with the plant is in handling the material, 
including the handling of the tram cars in placing them ; 
dangerous enough in itself to hands and limbs and 
the additional risk in coupling should not be incurred 
without better reasons than now appear. The extra 
expense of the couplings cannot be neglected as it is 
considerable, saying nothing of the time required in 
coupling a loaded train, which at best is a troublesome 
and a dangerous operation. " A word to the wise, etc." 



THE TIE LOADER. 

INTRODUCING A LABOR SAVING APPLIANCE. 

^ The most severe labor connected with the opera- 
tion of a timber preserving plant is the unloading of 
the treated ties into box cars. 

For economic reasons a large part of the output is 
thus delivered, and the fact being that these freshly 
treated ties have from fifty to seventy-five per cent of 

164 




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weight added to the normal weight, renders them 
very heavy, requiring from two to three men to Hft 
and carry them into the car. For two men the labor 
is so severe that it requires an athlete to stand the 
labor, and it is very difficult to secure men to do this 
part of the work. Much delay always results from 
this difficulty when organizing a force. 

The illustration given on the preceding page shows 
"The Angier Tie Loader" (patent pending), which is 
now ready to oJEfer to those desiring such an aid. It 
is claimed that two men will load more ties into a box 
car than four men can do by hand, and that the labor 
is brought within the strength of any ordinary? YvQ^rk- 
ingmanc 

TABLES FOR CONVENIENCE IN 
COMPUTATIONS, 

FOR LABORATORY WORK. 

Measures. Cubic feet, (1728 cu. in.). Cubic centi- 
meters, (eq. .0610254 pr. in.). 

Weights, (Avoirdupois) lbs. ozs. fractions of oz. to 
4 dec. and grains. (7000 grs. to 1 lb. av.) Using ozs. 
as units generally. 

For temperature, Fahrenheit thermometer. 

For liquid density, Beaume hydrometer (in gross 
.0 to 60 deg., and for fine .0 to 5.00 deg., Be.). 

Table of Ounces and Grains in Fractions 
OF an Ounce. 

1 grain equals .0023 ozs. 10 grains equal .0280 ozs. 

2 grains equal .0046 " 15 *' " .0343 '* 
-- « i« 0457 ** 

" .0571 " 
" .0686 " 
" .0800 " 
" .0914 *' 
" .1028 " 
" .1143 " 
One-half oz. equals 
equals 109.4 grains^ 
and one-eighth oz. equals 54.7 grains. 

166 



3 " 


<i 


.0068 " 20 


4 '* 


(( 


.0091 " 25 


5 " 


<( 


.0110 " 30 


6 ** 


« 


.0137 " 35 


7 " 


<i 


.0160 " 40 


8 " 


« 


.0183 " 45 


9 " 


<i 


.0206 " 50 


One 


oz. av. 


equals 437 grains. 


218.75 


grains. 


One-quarter oz. 



DRAWING A VACUUM. 

Computations by Prof. S. W. Robinson, Professor of 
Mechanical Engineering, Ohio State University, Co- 
lumbus, Ohio, Nov. 24, 1900: 

Answering your letter, I found it to take quite a 
little study. I assume that your pump has a clear- 
ance to be filled at each return stroke as if the piston 
had a hollow spot, or that a valve required a space, 
or something, so that at end of return stroke there was 
this clearance vol. that cannot be rid of ; represented 
by the vol. e. f. on sketch. This is always constant. 

These values 4", 3.55, 3.12 and 2.78 are the limit 
to which your pump lowers the barometer column to, 
at limit of exhaustion by pump, and are proportioned 
to the barometric columns at the stations before pump- 
ing. That is, the above figures are proportional to 30", 
26.62" 23.38" &c., in a given air pump, whatever the air 
pressure. 

It may be the air pressure to lift the weight of valve 
&c. -^ 

Fine physical laboratory air pumps require this 
valve to be lifted by force automatically. 

Now as the piston of your pump lifts, assume first, 
that the air under it remains constant temp., and that 
the vacuum is about completed as far as your pump 
will do it, then, at any stroke or two, the pressure will 
be, say 30" mercury at sea level where, for now, as- 
sume the pump to be. On lifting piston from C. to B., 
the stroke (O.C. being clearance), the falling pressure 
with increasing stroke will, for air at constant temper- 
ature in pump, describe the curve D., F., G., L., &c., 
stopping at L., actually, as end of stroke; but if piston 
kept on, the line would continue as to x. 

At 3,500 feet elevation, the curve would be at H. M. 
At 7,000 feet elevation the curve would be at I., N., 
or at top of Pike*s Peak at 14,500 feet elevation the 
curve would be at J., O , and so on. 

In your letter you speak of the terminal mercury 
column being 4" shorter or 26" instead of at air pres- 
sure, 30"; or really, I suppose the column connected 

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168 



with the clearance side of pump will stand at 4" when 
the pump has reached its limit. This 4" will be found 
at L., on the curve when the pump has completed its 
stroke, or a stroke at finish of pump's practical 
vacuum. 

Now these curves will be equilateral hyperbolas of 
air expansion, where equivalent of curve is xy=con- 
stant, or say eq. ADxCD=xy. Consequently the 
values BL, BM, BN, etc., will be proportional to 
CD, CH, CI, etc., respectively, so that when the 
barometric heights are 30", 26.62, 23.38, etc., the 
heights BL, BM, BN, etc., become known. (For 
sudden or quick pumping, the curve is adiabatic.) 

The values, 26.62, 23.38, etc., are to be determined 
by some barometric formula from the heights such as 
you gave as 3,500 feet and 7,000 feet elevation. This 
formula is the well-known Laplace barometric for- 
mula you may be familiar with, which is: 

X. (ft. in el.) = 60346 (1.+.00256 Cos. 2<p) (1+ ^^^ 

X log g-) 

T and T^ are centigrade temperatures at two stations* 
and H, H^, bar. hts., I drop out the (0.) whole paren- 
thesis or latitude term in my calculation here, giv- 
ing: 

X. in feet, = 60346. (1 + ^'^+J^' )(log ^) 

With this data I now arrive at a set of figures thus: 

At 200 ft. el. 30 in. mercury tern. 60 deg. Fah.=16 deg. C. 
'• 3,500 ♦• *• 26.62" " " 50 " '* =10 *' *' 

*• 7,000 " '* 23.38" " *' 40 '* *' =4.4 ** *' 

*• 14,500 " *• 17.40" " " 32 " " =0.0 " " 

Now allowing for the residual mercurial columns, 
measuring your vacuum, at the different altitudes of 
4", 3.35", 3.12" and 2.78", etc., you get 

9fi fiO---^^R=2^ 07" 1 ^^ indicating the mercurial 
23 38— 2 12=20 26" r^^^^"^^ which represent your 
17.*40— 2.*78=14.*62"J vacuums. 



These figures in last column are really exactly the 
same as you have given in your letter for the highest 
viz. 26" at sea level, 23" at 3,500 feet elevation and 
20" at 7,000 feet elevation. You say 24" to 26", 23" to 
21", 18" to 20", as if you readily got the lower values 
at each place, and that the larger values at each 
place were the limits. These exactly agree with my 
results. I used pur 4" as from 30" to 26", 4" at 
lower station. This treated by the diagram gives the 
other figures. 

To go farther with the columns toward the perfect 
vacuums will require a more perfect pump or one 
with less clearance. One way with same pump is to 
have oil or water to stay in pump to fill clearance 
e. f. at each return of stroke. 

Prof. S. W. Robinson, 

Nov. 24, 1900. O. S. U., Columbus, O. 

THE DETERMINATION OF LIFE OF 
TREATED TIMBER, IN RAILROAD TIES. 

The determination of life of timber when exposed 
as in cross ties or sleepers in a railroad track with 
any degree of precision is, for several reasons, very 
difficult. To approach anything near it requires a 
careful record in detail, which is very difficult to keep 
for a sufficient length of time as things go. Even if 
this was done ever so carefully and definite data were 
secured in one locality, the differences in climate, 
soils and conditions would give something quite dif- 
ferent at another location. 

This being the conditions, we will have to be satis- 
fied with an approximation. 

The following sketch is intended to show some 
deductions from the limited records in reach as 
furnished by the A. T. & S. F. Ry. on the treated 
mountain pine ties. The percentages as shown by 
line A. as regards the first eight years, is derived 
partially from the early periods of subsequent years 
(after 1896), where number of rotten ties removed 
have been reported. From 1897 to 1900 we have 
full record. 

170 







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171 




172 



It will be seen here that the mean life is near eleven 
and one-half years, and that the rate so far as to life 
is the minimum. We do not know how many ties of 
each year's treating have been removed previous to 
the commencement of the record in 1897. Referring 
to table compiled in October, 1900, compiled on the 
presumption of twelve years mean life, we find that 
not nearly so many rotten ties are being removed as 
should have been. (Only from 50 to 75 per cent.) 
Should the same be true as to the years from 188& 
to 1896, then it is presumed that our line is too high 
at first and that in the end a year or two more can be 
added to the mean life here shown for treated ties. 

Awaiting the time when the record shall have been 
completed, we shall have to rest content on what we 
have. 

The line B. B. is intended as an approximate for 
untreated hemlock and C. C. that for mountain 
untreated pine ties, presuming that much the same 
law will govern as with the treated ties. 

Granting that the diagram is anything near right, 
it speaks " graphically ** for itself. 

ON THE ECONOMIES OF TIMBER PRESER^ 
VATION. 

(Copy) 

On Line, Sept. 14, 1902. 
Mr. H. U. Mudge, 

General manager, A. T. & S. F. Ry., 
Topeka, Kan. 
Dear Sir : — I beg to acknowledge receipt of your 
favor of September 8, which was forwarded to me 
while on the line west, giving figures showing the 
average life of treated ties taken out of track during 
the year 1901. It would seem from the statement 
that the best results you receive from your Rio 
Grande division, next coming the New Mexico divi- 
sion. From the divisions east of the Western divi- 
sion, it would seem there was not much economy in 
the use of the treated tie, the average life being 



173 



practically eight years. Of course, this is consider- 
ably over the life of the tie untreated, still at the 
same time the additional cost of the treated over the 
ordinary pine without treatment would, in my mind, 
make up the difference. I should be very glad in- 
deed to hear from you on this subject, and whether 
you consider the tie economical to use east of our 
Western division. Yours truly, 

(Signed) Russell Harding, 
3d Vice-Pres. and Gen'l. Mgr. Mo. Pac. Ry. 

(Copy) 
ToPEKA, Kan., Sept. 26, 1902. 
Tie Treating Report. 
Mr. Russell Harding, 

3d Vice-Pres. and Gen'l. Mgr. Mo. Pac. Ry., 

St. Louis, Mo. 

Dear Sir: — I am in receipt of yours of the 14th inst., 
hereon, and note contents. It would probably have 
been better when these reports were sent out if 
special attention had been called to the fact that the 
figures represented only the average life of treated 
ties taken out on account of rot during 1901, and not 
the average life of all the ties treated during each 
year. 

We commenced wood preservation in 1885 at our 
Las Vegas plant, treating only mountain pine and 
laying the ties west of Dodge City, Kansas, but prin- 
cipally in New Mexico. Unfortunately, it was not 
until 1897 that we realized the necessity of keeping 
record of the service obtained through this work, so 
that from 1885 to 1896 inclusive, while we put in 
2,528,746 treated ties, we have no record of how many 
were taken out each year or the reason, consequently 
cannot give any present average life of service, for 
those still in, and must, until our present records are 
old enough, be content with knowing the average 
life of those taken out. 

In 1898 we commenced getting treated Southern 
pine ties from the Texas plant at Somerville, but 
these have not yet been in long enough to give us re- 

174 



liable data from which to determine the percentage 
of saving, although the Southern Pacific, who have 
been treating loblolly sap wood since 1886, using the 
same system of treating that we have, that we now 
use, claim that it about doubles the life of the tie at 
less than one-third its cost. This is practically our 
own experience, even judging by the ties which 
have come out of the Western end where we have 
had long enough time to base an opinion upon. You 
will see by the record sent that in 1901 we took out 
4,472 mountain pine ties which have been in the 
track since 1885 — sixteen years' service, when at the 
most without treating we could not have expected 
more than six years, and I am satisfied there are 
quite a few thousand ties of 1885 yet in the track and 
good for two or three years more service. 

Answering your remarks as to the economy of 
treated ties east of our Western division, in consider- 
ing this it would not be fair to include the number 
taken out from " other causes," which cover those 
broken in accidents or removed for reasons entirely 
outside of the question of treatment; but when the 
number removed on account of rot is considered 
alongside of the total number put in, it will be seen 
that it bears a very small proportion to the number 
inserted in track, as you will see by figures given: 

in connection with these figures, and with our 
averages as a whole, it must not be overlooked that it 
is the " weak sisters " which come out first; the strong, 
sound ones remaining in a much longer time under 
the principle of the survival of the fittest. 

I certainly consider that our experience and econ- 
omy also warrants us in the use of treated ties on the 
whole of our road, and believe good results will be 
apparent in course of time from those put in on the 
Eastern end, as well as on the Western. This year 
we had to put in a good many ties not treated, but it 
is because we are unable to get all of the other kind 
that we called for. 



175 



STATEMENT. 

Treated Pine Ties. 

Eastern end, cast of Western and Colorado Divisions, 

Taken out between March 1, 1897 and December 
31, 1901. 

Entered against year in which they were treated. 



Year in which treated and 
put in track. 



Ties in 

Track Jan. 

1, 1902. 



fl 


f^ ^ 


0) 


(D © 


4^ 


5§ 


^ 


OS 


11* 


2 


37t 


23 




111 


5 


583 




18 


53 


737 



o 



1897 27,831 

1898 314,136 

1899 , 658,775 

1900 787,377 

1901 658,694 



Total 2,446,J 



27,818 
314,066 
658,664 
786,789 
658,676 

2.446,013 



13 
60 
111 

588 
18 

790 



Western end. 



1897 242,750 

1898 334,058 

1899 351,570 

1900 375,132 

1901 402,540 

Total 1,706,050 



242,309 
333,727 
351,359 
375,121 

402,483 

1,704,999 



305* 


136 


lOlt 


230 


21 


190 




11 


2 


55 


429 


622 



441 

331 

211 

11 

57 

1,051 



Total on A. T. and S. F. proper. 



1897 270,581 

1898 648,184 

1899 1,010,345 

1900 1,162,509 

1901 1,061,234 

Total 4,152,853 



270,127 

647,793 

1,010,028 

1,161,910 

1,061,159 

4,151,017 



316* 


138 


138t 


253 


21 


301 


5 


594 


2 


73 


482 


1,359 



454 
391 
322 
599 
75 

1,841 



*Mean for 4 years rotten .00094 I 
tMean for 3 years rotten .00021 j" 



ROWE. 



176 



We expect to have more and special attention 
given to this wood preservation matter in the future, 
and through our own experiments in a small plant 
put up here for that purpose, and are in hopes of so 
improving our treatment as to get even better results 
than in the past. (Sig.) H. U. Mudge, 

General Manager, 

A. T. & S. F. Ry. 



COST OF TREATING TIES. 

The appended table gives the average cost of 
treating ties at the several plants. This is the net 
cost covering chemicals, labor, fuel and supplies only. 

The character of the timber varies so that the 
strength of the chloride of zinc solution also varies 
from over four per cent in some cases to one and 
one-quarter per cent. 

TABLE. 





Cost of 


Process. 


O 

a 


o 


1^. 


1 


i 

o 


A. Wellhouse 

B. '' 

C. Burnett 


$0.0680 
.0842 
.0616 
.0885 
.0716 
.0554 
.0677 
.0622 
.0369 


$0.0343 
.0469 
.0709 
.0303 
.0345 
.0329 
.0706 
.0268 
.0279 


$0.0058 
.0043* 
.0037* 
.0038 
.0084 
.0086 
.0301 
.0025* 
.0083 


$0.0026 

.0032 
.0021 
.0015 
.0055 

.0033 


$0.1107 
.1354 
.1362 


D. Wellhouse 

E. " 

F. Burnett 


.1258 
.1168 
.0984 


G. Wellhouse 

H. Burnett 


.1739 
.0915 


I. " 


.0764 







*Supplies included. 



177 



CYLINDCn N»2 ,u 






TXi or fimttr \3Stl Cub ft - 702«fl. -^ 
5.Jaf.ea (62+ . . lOlJoe -3 






ahttUof c»Ktn/fr fc.w. ait or*, of tM <f inc/i.i o/wNith Ou ri»«f htlts Tatt J 5p< 

Ritltl y4'Jl« ni.«f fc^ltj »%,"+ on<i 2- <-«"f«rf. c.nftr. 



OBS 


tRVATIONS on STEAMINO CTIINO 


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Fig. 24— retort no. 2, showing cause of breakage. 

178 



INTRODUCTION OF STEAM TO THE 
RETORT. 

In 1885, when the Las Vegas plant was first in- 
stalled, the steam was introduced through the upper 
dome near the middle of the retort. Great distortion 
of the shell of the retort was at once apparent and 
several breaks by tearing the steel sheets succeeded 
each other at short intervals. These failures were at the 
bottom of the retort near the middle and were quite 
expensive to repair, requiring large patches. 









































S7EAMINOCy{JNDtRW0 2.1WITH CHAROC /*M0 «5fN6 VACUUM - 5TEAM,THROO0H COIL . ] 
TVint Prom, eortimenctment of sUaminginminutii. -v ee.a.S* tuth. 1 


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It was evidently due to the sudden heating of the 
top of the retort before the steam reached the bottom, 
the top sheets being expanded so as to throw it into 
an arch, causing tension on the bottom sheets beyond 
what they would stand. 

The whole difficulty was remedied by introducing 
the steam at the lower dome and carrying it to each 
end and there discharging it, thus filling the whole 
area of the retort with steam, the air being allowed to 
escape through the top dome as fast as the steam from 
each end displaced it. 

The diagrams here given, with one given on page 
57 of the hand-book, will sufficiently illustrate the 
causes of breakage as well as suggestive of the rem- 
edy to be applied. 



MEASURING THE SAPS EXTRACTED DUR- 
ING THE PROCESS OF STEAMING. 

In seeking a method of determining the amount of 
saps or soluble matter extracted during the process 
of steaming, the only practical method would seem 
to be by observing the changes in weight of the wood, 
and taking careful note of the effects produced. 

Assuming that the wood is dry when introduced, 
the steam is introduced and held under the required 
pressure until the wood is heated to the boiling point. 
In practice we find that much of the steam required 
to heat the wood condenses and falls to the bottom of 
the retort and from thence is blown into the sewer at 
short intervals. At first this outfall is pretty nearly 
clear water from condensed steam, then later some- 
what loaded with timber juices and later heavily so 
and finally again bearing nearly pure steam conden- 
sation. Then the vacuum follows, drawing the 
vapors from the timber and from the retort. If at 
this stage the timber is withdrawn from the retort, if 
introduced dry, will have increased in weight, but if 
introduced green and sappy, will be lighter, but we 
cannot tell in either case how much steam has con- 
densed in the timber during steaming and how much 
is drawn away during the vacuum. But if we weigh 
the timber before treated and then again after, we 
have the increased weight, and by the tub gauge we 
have the amount actually absorbed. 

Invariably this latter quantity is much greater 
than the increase in the weight of the timber by treat- 
ment. Then the difference is evidently the amount 
of sap or soluble matter drawn from the timber. In 
no other way can this be determined during the ordi- 
nary process of treating timber. 

Rule.— Subtract increase of weight of timber from weight 
of solution absorbed. This difference is the weight of soluble 
matter drawn out. 

180 



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183 





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184 



The table here given is results of investigation made by the 
aid and co-operations of three operators of Timber Preserving- 
Plants, F. J. Angier of Sheridan, Wyoming, H. J. Whitmore of 
Granville, Texas, and F. H. Stewart of Alamogordo, New Mex- 
ico, at request of the author. The primary purpose was to de- 
termine as near as possible just vv'hat takes place as regards 
physical conditions during the operation. Each one, aside from 
the program furnished, carried through the operation entirely 
independent of each other and the uniformity of mean results, 
fully attest the care and ability with which each conducted the 
experiment. 

One question recently brought to the front by the theorist, 
has been the amount of heat attained by the timber during 
steaming and vacuum, it being urged that during the producing 
the vacuum, the temperature of the steamed timber became re- 
duced, so that a portion of the vapors in the timber would again 
condense and thus fail to be drawn out. It is, therefore, urged 
that a coil of superheated steam should be used to keep the tem- 
perature above the vaporizing point until the vacuum was fully 
drawn. 

Now let us see: In any case the vacuum drawn is never less 
than 22 inches and at this point water boils at 140° Fahr. against 
2120 at atmospheric pressure. Referring to the table, we find 
that the mean temperature at completion of the vacuum is 153° 
F., and the minimum 135°, nowhere as low as the boiling point 
in 22 inches vacuum, except in one run. It would seem, there- 
fore, that a superheater coil is not needed. 

Another point brought out is, that during the steaming the 
boiling point is reached in a majority of cases, allowing for the 
elevation above the sea and the imperfect method resorted to, 
that of withdrawing the car and pushing the thermometer into 
a hole previously prepared. 

Then again, it will be noted that dry ties age almost invari- 
ably heavier after the vacuum is drawn by about 4 per cent, and 
green ties are lighter by about 2 per cent, than when introduced 
and that some very green are slightly lighter after steaming 
and before the vacuum is drawn. This is due to the large 
amount of water boiled out during the steaming, overbalancing 
the steam absorbed. 

There are other significant matters brought out that will 
interest the experienced operator, and will, it is hoped, encourage 
further investigation in this direction. 

Referring to matter of saps drawn from the wood as per 
page 180 (Hand Book, the column R.-J), is significant where none 
is shown in very dry ties, whereas very green ties give off over 
20 lbs. per tie. 



185 









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190 



APPENDIX. 



THE CREOSOTE AND ZINC-TANNIN 
PROCESSES. 

It is deemed desirable that place be given to the 
following matter from one of the best, if not the best» 
posted men in regard to the matter here treated. 
Octave Chanute, C. E., has that extended experi- 
ence that must give his statements such degree of 
authority as to remain undisturbed except by the 
very best substantiated proofs. 

WORKING INSTRUCTIONS. 
MATERIALS NEEDED FOR IMPREGNATION. 

Before the works are put into operation the neces« 
sary materials for injection have to be ordered and 
placed in their appropriate receptacles. Order as 
follows: 

CREOSOTE. 

Order in the ratio of i ^ gallons per cubic foot of 
the quantity of timber which it is intended to creosote 
and to the following specifications: 

"The creosote to be a pure coal tar distillate of the 
very best quality, free from water and all impurities^ 
and on analysis to give the following results: 

*'i. To be entirely liquid at a temperature of 120 
degrees Fahrenheit, and to remain so on cooling to 
95 degrees. 

"2. To contain not less than 25 per cent, of con- 
stituents that do not distill over at a temperature of 
600 degrees Fahrenheit. 

"3. To yield to a solution of caustic soda not less 
than 6 per cent by volume of tar-acids. 

191 



"4- The specific gravity at 90 degrees Fahrenheit 
to range between 1.040 and 1.065, water being taken 
as 1. 000 at the same temperature." 

This is the English specification, and London gov- 
erns the price for creosote aii over the world. The 
firm of Burt, Boulton & Maywood are large dealers in 
England, and the Barrett Manufacturing Co. lead in 
the United States. The price fluctuates greatly. 

The creosote will probably be received in barrels; 
these should be rolled over a gangway to the creosote 
storage tank and dumped therein. The oil will prob- 
ably be fluid, but if it does not flow easily, a closed 
steam lance with flexible steam connection inserted 
into the barrel will cause its rapid emptying. From 
the storage tank the oil will be transferred by gravity 
or pumping in needed quantities to the creosote reser- 
voir, under the retort. 

Steam coils are placed in the creosote storage tank, 
in the creosote reservoir in the retort, and in the meas- 
uring tank if one is used. In addition to this, the main 
pipes connecting these various receptacles have a 
small internal pipe through which steam or its con- 
densations circulate in order to keep the creosote hot 
and prevent clogging. 

The tests of the creosote received will have to be 
made from time to time by a chemist, and it is recom- 
mended that he shall procure a copy of the book by 
Lunge, "Coal-Tar and Ammonia." 

CREOSOTING. 

This process consists of three operations : 

1. Steaming the timber, 

2. Producing vacuum and admitting creosote. 
^^3. Application of pressure pump. 

01 miiio 

* I. STEAMING THE TIMBER. 

The timber being in the hermetically closed retort 
is first subjected to the action of steam, unless the 
wood is so thoroughly seasoned as not to require 
this. The time necessary for steaming depends upon 
the season and the kind and condition of the wood. 

193 



The object of this steaming is to put the timber % 
a condition to absorb the greatest possible amount of 
the preserving fluid, by dissolving and removing as 
much of the sap as possible, as well as whatever dirt 
there may be on the faces of the wood. 

The admission of steam to the retort is to be so 
regulated that the gauge attached thereto shall in- 
dicate a steam pressure of 20 pounds at the end of 
not less than 30 minutes after beginning the process. 
This steam pressure is then to be kept up, without 
increase, for a further period, varying from 30 min- 
utes to three hours, in accordance with the condition 
and kind of the wood. The p-reener it is the longer 
must the steaming be continued to extract the sap. 
The denser the wood the more does it require long 
steaming in order that the sap in the heart of the 
timber shall reach the boiling point. Very dense 
woods, with small and infrequent sap cells, should 
not be treated at all, as this will be a waste of 
money. The fact may be determined by weighing 
thoroughly seasoned specimens and rejecting the 
woods which weigh 50 pounds or more to the cubic 
foot when in that dry condition, or over 55 pounds 
to the cubic foot when half seasoned. Experience 
will have to guide. 

In order to expel the air from the retort at the 
beginning of the steaming, a valve attached to the 
lower part of the retort must be opened until steam 
begins to escape ; this valve must also be opened 
from time to time, or left with a very minute open- 
ing during the process of steaming, in order to draw 
off the water of condensation. 

After steaming the wood for a sufficient length 
of time, the steam is allowed to escape from the re- 
tort. The steam valve and all escape valves are then 
closed before proceeding to pump a partial vacuum. 

2. PRODUCING VACUUM AND ADMITTING CREOSOTE. 

After the steam is exhausted from the retort, a 
vacuum of 18 to 24 inches of mercury, as indicated 
on the vacuum gauge, is produced, and this amount 

193 



of rarefaction must be kept up from lo minutes to 
one hour, as experience with the kinds of wood oper- 
ated upon shall indicate. Then, without decreasing 
the vacuum, i. e., without stopping the air pump, 
the creosote, previously heated to 120 degrees F., is 
admitted. This is done by opening the valve lead- 
ing to the creosote reservoir under the retort, when 
the fluid rises through the action of^ atmospheric 
pressure, so as to fill the retort partially, the re- 
mainder of the filling and the application of pres- 
sure are effected by means of the pressure pump. 

3. APPLICATION OF PRESSURE PUMP. 

The pump is to be put into and continued in action 
until the pressure is raised to 100 pounds to the 
square inch, and this must be maintained, until the 
requisite amount of creosote has been forced into 
the timber, the air pump being shut off as soon as it 
is ascertained that the retort is full of creosote. 
The time requisite to produce absorption by the 
wood will vary from 30 minutes to three hours, and 
the amount to be injected will vary from ten pounds 
to the cubic foot for timber to be exposed only to the 
weather, to sixteen to twenty pounds per cubic foot 
for timber to be exposed in the sea to the action of 
marine worms, i. e., the Teredo Navalis or the Lim- 
noria Terebrans. If necessary the time of pumping 
must be prolonged until the required amount of cre- 
osote has been absorbed. 

In order to determine the amount of oil absorbed 
by each charge, two methods are employed. The 
first is to read accurately the gauges or indicator 
boards attached to the creosote tank and the creo- 
sote reservoir before and after the injection of the 
timber. From these readings the amount of oil ab- 
sorbed by the charge is computed, and knowing the 
number of cubic feet in the charge the quantity per 
cubic foot is easily ascertained. If through any 
cause it is impracticable to measure beforehand the 
volume of charge, the amount of cubic feet which 
it contains may be ascertained approximately by 

194 



first gauging the cubic contents of the retort with 
only the empty buggies and the wire rope therein; 
then by reading the gauges, first, before admitting 
the creosote: second, when the retort is just full, 
and, third, after the creosote has been forced back; 
the displacement of the charge in cubic feet may then 
be computed, as more fully explained hereinafter. 

The second method of determining the amount of 
oil absorbed by each charge is to weigh each buggy 
load just before and just after creosoting; the dif- 
ference showing: the weieht absorbed, and this is pre- 
sumably evenly distributed among the number of 
cubic feet in that buggy charge. . This is probably 
the more accurate way, but it reauires the introduc- 
tion of a weighing scale in the track, or the handling 
and weighing of each piece of timber separately. 
In computing the result, the amount of sap pre- 
viously extracted by the vacuum must be taken into 
account, and be added to the increased weight shown 
by weighing. This extracted sap can be measured 
through the hot well of the condenser, and its weight 
thus ascertained. 

In case of any charge in which the timber fails 
to absorb the requisite quantity of creosote, the proc- 
ess may be repeated. The tar-oil, or creosote, is to 
be kept at a temperature of at least 120° F. during 
the whole operation of injection. 

After the requisite quantity of oil has been ab- 
sorbed by the timber, and this may be most accu- 
rately determined by adding a measuring tank to the 
works, the tar oil is then drawn off. 

CREOSOTING. 

The creosote or "dead oil" is to be stored in 
a metal tank (iron or steel), in which is placed 
a steam heating coil to bring and keep the oil at 
such temperature as shall be necessary to keep it 
entirely fluid or liquefied (say, 120 to 130 deg. R). 

The suction pipe of the pump by which the oil 
is to be handled enters the side of the store tank 
and has its inlet very near the bottom, by means 

195 



of which the oil is drawn to the pump and by it 
forced into the reservoir placed immediately under 
the retort or into the retort itself as during pressure 
on the charge. 

The reservoir is also furnished with a heating coil 
by which the temperature of the oil is still further 
raised to such temperature as may be found de- 
sirable, not so high as to prevent or destroy the 
vacuum in the retort by which it must be caused to 
flow into the retort. 

In case the vacuum should fail to fill the retort 
around its charge, then resort must be had to the 
force pump to fill the remaining by drawing prefer- 
ably from the storage tank, although if the reservoir 
contents are not too hot, from it. This as well 
for creating proper pressure on the charge during 
its exposure to the oil. 

INTRODUCING THE CREOSOTE TO THE 
RETORT. 

The charge having been carried through the 
steaming process, the same as done in section i 
for the zinc-tannin process, and the vacuum drawn 
and held for the desired time to exhaust the freed 
saps from the timber, the creosote is allowed to flow 
up through the five-inch valve and connecting pipe 
joining the reservoir with the bottom of the retort 
by opening the valve "R,'' and at the same time 
opening an air pipe with which the reservoir is to 
be provided in order that atmospheric pressure shall 
act on the liquid in the reservoir, which should lift 
so much of it as will fill the retort, the full force 
being kept up by continuing the use of the vacuum 
pump. 

When the retort is filled as nearly as practicable, 
then the valve "R" should be closed, the vacuum 
pump stopped and the pressure pump immediately 
started and the remaining space in the retort filled 
and pressure brought on the charge, preferably 
drawing from the storage tank, as this will tend 

196 



to keep up the supply and replace the amount ab- 
sorbed by the timber. 

DURING EXPOSURE OF CHARGE TO THE 
OIL. 

When the charge is all in and the pressure 
pump in operation, steam is turned on the heat- 
ing coil in the retort and the temperature of the 
oil is raised to that prescribed, say 170 to 190 deg. 
F., and so held until sufficient absorption is had, 
which being done, the residue of oil is allowed to 
flow back into its reservoir through the pipe and 
the valve "R" through which it entered. The 
charge of timber is allowed to drip until quite free 
from the clinging oil, the operation is complete and 
the charge is withdrawn. 

OPERATION OF THE HEATING OIL. 

The store tank, the reservoir and the retort 
have each its independent steam supply pipe 
from the main steam pipe in the machinery room, 
with a valve in each, convenient to the hand of the 
engineer by which each coil is operated as needed, 
and the outlet of condensations leading from each 
coil, enter one common steam trap, which in its turn 
has a discharge pipe leading to the hot water reser- 
voir or the boiler feed tank, as may be desired. The 
operator should be guided by the necessities, being 
indicated by the thermometers placed upon the stor- 
age tank, the reservoir and the retort. 

Read the gauges and the indicator boards at the 
proper times, and also the glass tube of the hot- 
well to the condenser, and fill out the blanks in the 
report of run. 

Much of the knowledge necessary to be entirely 
successful must be derived from experience and a 
considerable exercise of judgment and careful ob- 
servation. As regards the matter of temperature 
of oils or solutions, strength of solutions, time, steam 
or pressure shall be held and many other pertinent 

197 



matters ; this depends so largely on the character 
of timber to be treated, to climatic conditions and 
to the specifications and methods to be used, that 
it would be impossible to explain this through the 
present means, and it can only be done by an ex- 
perienced operator on the ground. 

CHLORIDE OF ZINC. 

The chloride vats are lead lined, so that the 
chloride can be made on the spot by pouring hydro- 
chloric acid over metallic zinc (spelter) in case those 
materials can be procured, but it is assumed that it 
will be preferred to use the "fused chloride of zinc," 
which comes in iron drums. Order the latter in the 
ratio of one-half pound per cubic foot of the quan- 
tity of timber which it is intended to treat there- 
with. Fused chloride is made by a number of firms 
in Germany, which are well known to the chemical 
agencies, and by one or more firms in the United 
States. 

A convenient way of handling the drums will be 
to roll them over the gangway above the chloride 
vats, there to chop off the sheet iron, which is quite 
thin, with an axe, and to chop the chloride into suit- 
able pieces to throw into the vats, using each alter- 
nately. By adding about the same weight of pure 
water as there is of the chloride and letting it stand 
a day or two, this dissolves into a "stock solution," 
which should read about 50 degrees with the Beau- 
me hydrometer. From this "stock solution*' appro- 
priate quantities are to be thrown up by the steam 
jet into the chloride storage tank, to produce the 
strength of "working solution" desired, which will 
vary probably from 2° to 5*^ Beaume, in accordance 
with the condition of the timber to be treated, as 
more fully stated hereafter. When the general con- 
ditions of the working have been arrived at, much 
labor of computation will be saved by preparing a 
table showing how many tenths of feet from the 
chloride vat, should be mixed per foot of water in 

198 



the storage tank in order to produce the strength of 
"working solution" required. 

The testing of the chloride of zinc will have to be 
made from time to time by a chemist. It should be 
as free as possible from impurities, and especially 
from iron. The chemist will indicate what simple 
tests can be applied at the works to test for iron, 
free acid, sulphates or basic chloride when he is not 
present. 

GELATINE. 

Order dry glue in the ratio of i-io of a pound per 
cubic foot of the quantity of timber which it is in- 
tended to treat by the zinc-tannin process (some- 
what less will be used). If moist glue is to be had, 
order twice the above quantity, as it contains about 
50 per cent of water. It is not requisite that the 
glue shall be refined and the cheaper grades will an- 
swer very well, provided they are rich in gelatine. 
This is to be ascertained by testing a sample dis- 
solved to a syrup between the fingers, and noting its 
degree of adhesiveness, and also by making a solu- 
tion 2 per cent strong and mixing in a test tube with 
a solution of tannin of the same strength. The glue 
which will yield the largest volume of pellicles of 
insoluble artificial leather is the best to use. 

The glue is to be dissolved in the appropriate 
cooking tub with hot water (best obtained by steam- 
ing) into a "stock solution" of convenient strength, 
whence it is to be thrown up by the steam jet into 
the gelatine storage tank so as to produce a "work- 
ing solution" I per cent strong, in terms of dry 
glue. The exact strength is not essential, as the of- 
fice performed by the gelatine and the tannin is to 
produce pellicles of an insoluble substance which ob- 
structs the washing out of the chloride of zinc. 

TANNIN. 

Order liquid extract of tannin in the ratio of i-io 
of a pound per cubic foot of the quantity of timber 
which it is intended to treat by the zinc-tannin proc- 

199 



ess (somewhat less will be used). The most suitable 
is the extract of hemlock bark which is made in 
Pennsylvania and in Michigan, and which contains 
about 30 per cent of tannic acid (in terms of oxalic 
acid), and is sold by the pound. It is practicable, 
however, to use other varieties of tannin, such as 
extract of oak-bark, of willow bark, or of chestnut, 
catechu, sumach or gambler. If tannin containing 
barks are to be obtained locally it may be cheaper to 
make the extract on the spot, the essential point 
being that the "stock extract'^ shall contain about 30 
per cent of tannic acid, in terms of oxalic acid. This 
"stock extract" is to be emptied into the appropriate 
cooking tub, steamed, and thrown up by the steam 
jet into the tannin storage tank in such quantities 
as to form therein a "working solution'* containing 
2 per cent of the tannin "stock extract." The exact 
proportion is not essential and a little practice will 
enable the operator of the works to get at the correct 
proportion of water to be added to obtain a "v/ork- 
ing solution." 

CONDITION OF TIMBER. 

The condition of the timber before treatment is 
the most important element of success. The wood 
should be seasoned, or at least half seasoned, and 
this can best be ascertained before beginning opera- 
tions by measuring and weighing samples of wood, 
two or three cubic feet in contents, when fresh cut 
and when thoroughly seasoned, so as to ascertain 
their weight per cubic foot. The difference between 
the two weighings will indicate the amount of the 
watery portion of the sap which has evaporated, and 
of the amount of solution which can probably be in- 
jected; this serving as a guide in selecting those 
woods which should preferably be employed. After 
these datas have been obtained, experience will guide 
as to the length of time and the mode of seasoning 
which are requisite to obtain good results. In Eu- 
rope wood is seldom treated before it has been sea- 
soned from 6 to 12 months. In the United States 

200 



wood is generally treated some 4 to 6 months after 
it has been cut, but the results are inferior; save 
on the Pacific Coast, where it is said that Oregon fir 
seasoned in the air 2 years will take double the time 
for treatment which is required for one freshly cut. 
This probably results from the presence of resin in 
the wood, which gums upon seasoning, 

PREPARATION FOR WORKING. 

The first requisite is that the engineer who is to 
operate the works personally shall thoroughly know 
and understand all parts of the plant The retort, 
the working tanks, and especially the piping and 
valves, so as to know what motions to make to pro- 
duce certain results. After he has made adequate 
studies of these and the tanks have all been charged 
with the liquids of the requisite working strength, 
the operation consists essentially in the following 
actions : 

1. Charging buggies, placing in retort, closing 
door. 

2. Steaming not over 20 lbs. pressure. 

3. Producing vacuum of 18 to 24 inches. 

4. Introducing solutions and applying pressures. 

5. Forcing surplus solutions back into tanks. 

6. Opening door of retort and withdrawing 
charge. 

The details for these actions are given under the 
appropriate headings in the instructions to the engi- 
neer, but general instructions for some of them are 
as follows : 

I. CHARGING BUGGIES^ ETC. 

The loads on the buggies should fit the interior of 
the retort as completely as practicable. This is best 
attained with green operatives by using the index 
frame, with rotating arms, wnich will sweep the cir- 
cle of permissible loading when placed on the track 
against the buggy. In a short time the men will 
learn to do without it. Care should be taken that 
the loads should present square faces front and rear 

201 



on the buggies, as they are to be switched about 
with the wire rope attached to the rear buggy, all 
the others being pushed by it. When hauling the 
load into the retort the ''pulling in" rope attaches to 
the last buggy, passes into the retort, and through 
the hand hole and sheave to the winch, while the 
"pulling out'' rope is attached to the then front 
buggy, is dragged in with the train, and remains in 
the retort during the treatment, ready to be fastened 
to after opening the door. 

The door is closed by inserting and screwing up 
the hook bolts, going over them, round after round, 
to ensure even pressures. Before closing the door 
the packing in the groove is to be lightly gone over 
with moistened soapstone powder to prevent stick- 
ing. The door is opened by unscrewing the bolts. 
Some practice is required to avoid leakages, the in- 
sertion of the packing being an operation which 
must be carefully done. 

2. STEAMING. 

The pressure gausre and the thermometer are to 
be carefully watched during the steaming, as the 
pressure may not be allowed to go over 20 pounds 
to the square inch, and the temperature over 240 de- 
grees Fahrenheit, without danger of injuring the 
strength of the wood. The length of steaming will 
vary with the condition of the wood, and must be 
obtained by experience. In the case of thoroughly 
seasoned wood (an article which will seldom be 
treated) the steaming can be omitted altogether with 
profit. 

3. PRODUCING VACUUM. 

The air pump produces both pressure and vacuum. 
The latter is employed to exhaust the air and sap 
from the wood, and should range from 18 to 24 
inches of mercury, in accordance with the condition 
of the wood, and the amount of solution it is de- 
sired to inject. The higher the vaccum the better the 
wood is prepared. The amount of vapor pumped 

202 



out of the retort and condensed in the condenser is 
measured in the hot well under the latter, and read 
off in the glass tube. If creosoting, the condensed 
vapor is saved, if working the zinc-tannin process it 
is run to waste. 

THE ZINC-TANNIN PROCESS. 
This process consists of five operations : 

1. Steaming the timber. 

2. Producing a vacuum. 

3. Admitting chloride of zinc. Pressure. 

4. Blow back, admitting gelatine. Pressure. 

5. Blow back, admitting tannin. Pressure. 
The steaming of the timber and the vacuum are 

to be carried out in exactly the same manner as for 
creosoting, and the remarks already made will apply. 
The third operation consists in admitting the 
chloride of zinc solution, previously heated to 150° 
F., from the chloride storage tank, and in applying 
pressure with the zinc pump. The time during 
which this pressure is to continue will vary with 
the condition of the timber, but will generally be 
two or three hours, during which the pressure must 
be maintained at 100 pounds to the square inch, 
watching the gauge, and regulating the pump. When 
the wood has been fully injected the chloride solu- 
tion is to be forced back with compressed air into 
its tank. The strength of the solution should gen- 
erally be 3.5° Beaume. If the timber is refractory 
this may be increased to 5° Beaume. 

4. BLOW BACK ADMITTING GELATINE PRESSURE. 

The chloride of zinc solution having been forced 
back from the retort, the gelatine is next admitted, 
and upon this a pressure is applied of 100 pounds to 
the square inch for 30 to 60 minutes. The wood has 
already been filled with the chloride of zinc, but 
upon the removal of its pressure a certain portion 
has been driven out by the re-expanding of the air 
included in the sap cells, thus making some room 

"203 



for the gelatine. This penetrates perhaps one inch, 
under the renewed pressure, but a portion of this is 
again driven out by re-expanding, thus making room 
for the fifth operation. 

5. BLOW BACK, ADMITTING TANNIN. PRESSURE. 

The gelatine having been forced back into its ap- 
propriate tank, the tannin is next admitted, and pres- 
sure is applied of 100 pounds to the square inch by 
the pump, for 30 to 60 minutes. This penetrates 
from y2 to ^/i oi an inch, and on coming into con- 
tact with the gelatine forms an insoluble substance 
which obstructs the dragging out of the chloride of 
zinc during the alternate soaking and drying out of 
timber when exposed to the weather. 

This last operation having been performed, the 
tannin is forced back into its tank and the treatment 
is completed. 

The time occupied by these various operations as 
carried out at works in Chicago is as follows : 

Hours. Min. 

Charging two retorts with ties (read tank 

gauges) o 30 

Producing steam pressure to 20 lbs. (read 

steam gauge) o 30 

Maintenance steam pressure (read ther- 
mometer) 3 — 

Blowing off steam o 15 

Working vacuum pump to extract sap. . . . i — 

Admission chloride solution (red indi- 
cator) o 30 

Duration pressure on solution (read indi- 
cator) ....3 — 

Forcing back chloride solution (read indi- 
cator) o 20 

Admission gelatine solution (read indi- 
cator) o 15 

Duration pressure on gelatine i — 

Forcing back gelatine solution (read indi- 
cator) o 15 

204 



Hours. Min, 

Admission tannin solution (read indica- 
tor) o 15 

Duration pressure on tannin.... ,.., o 30 

Forcing back tannin solution (read indi- 
cator) o 20 

Discharging the retorts o 20 

12 -™. 

The time of these various operations may be some- 
what varied, and can be shortened to 8 hours if the 
timber is well seasoned. In Europe, where the wood 
has been seasoned 6 to 12 months, the treatment with 
chloride of zinc (omitting gelatine and tannin) is 
done in about 5 hours. It is desirable to arrange the 
time occupied so that the discharging and recharg- 
ing the retorts shall be done when the timber han- 
dlers are at hand to help. The works are generally 
run night and day. 

CHECK OF WORK DONE. 

The most accurate way of checking off the work 
done is to weigh each buggy load just before and 
just after treatment. The difference in weight 
shows the number of pounds of solution injected, 
and as the strength of the chloride of zinc solution 
is known before hand, the amount of dry chloride 
injected is computed by multiplying the weight by 
the percentage corresponding to the degrees Beaume. 
The following table gives those percentages : 

PERCENTAGES OF ZINC CHLORIDE. 

Fractional degrees may be obtained by interpola- 
tion. 

This method involves putting a track scale at 
some convenient point, and passing every buggy 
over it, stopping long enough to weigh it, and re- 
cording the results in a book. The buggies have 
also to be identified at each weighing, and tabular 
statements have to be made of the results. All 

205 



this takes time, and costs something for labor, so 
that it is somewhat cheaper to rely wholly upon the 
records of gauging kept by the engineers, which 
should be kept in any event, and which may serve 
as a further check upon the weighing, should the 
latter be done. 

The operating engineer is to keep a record about 
as follows. It may be modified to suit circum- 
stances : 

RECORD OF OPERATIONS.* 

From which record the results may afterwards be 
entered into a book under such headings as may be 
deemed most desirable. 

The left-hand set of blanks gives a record of the 
time of each operation, and the right-hand set gives 
the data for calculating the results.^ 

The computations are made in this way: 

The retort has previously been gauged with the 
empty buggies and "pulling out" wire rope inside, 
and it is therefore known how many cubic feet it 
contains when in that condition. This will be about 
1,210 cubic feet. The reading of the index or indi- 
cator on the zinc chloride tank has been taken at 
the beginning of the operation, thus showing how 
many vertical feet there are in the tank. The "re- 
turn point" of this indicator has also been read after 
the chloride has all been forced back. Hence the 
difference between those two readings will show 
how many vertical feet from the tank have been 
absorbed by the wood, and this multiplied by the 
number of square feet per foot of tank, which will 
be 113.10, if it is just 12 feet inside diameter, will 
give the number of cubic feet of solution which 
has gone into the wood. From this the pounds of 
solution, or pounds of dry chloride, may be deduced 
by applying the appropriate factors. 

To arrive at the cubic feet displaced by the 
charge, it is necessary to deduct the reading of 
"lowest point indicator" from the "return point in- 
dicator" ; the difference, multiplied as before by the 

♦See page 78.— Author. 206 



square feet of area, gives the number of cubic feet 
which the retort still contained after the wood had 
been injected, and by deducthig from this the num- 
ber of cubic feet which the retort holds when only 
empty cars are therein, we obtain the displacement 
of the load in cubic feet; from which the pounds 
of wood may be calculated by applying the proper 
factor. Both calculations will be greatly shortened 
by preparing tables corresponding to each vertical 
foot of tanks, after the latter and the retort have 
been accurately gauged. 

The amount of gelatine and tannin solutions ab« 
sorbed may be computed in the same way, but there 
is little interest in doing so, as the chloride of zinc 
is the real preservative. 

The data for each run should subsequently be en- 
tered in a book, in such order as the nature of the 
work requires. 



207 



CREOSOTING TIMBER. 

DESCRIPTION OE OUR PROCESS. 

"'greosoting.'"' , 

"The timber is first loaded on cars and run into 
cylinders which are then hermetically sealed with 
immense iron heads. Steam, is then admitted into 
the cylinder and surrounding the timber. Superheated 
steam is also introduced into the cylinders by means 
of large coils so that it does not come in contact 
with the timber, and the heat is maintained until 
the timber is heated all through at a low temperature 
so as not to injure the woody fibres. The cylinder 
is then freed of all vapors, and the vacuum pumps 
are put to work to exhaust all the sap and moisture, 
which is then in the shape of vapor, from the 
cylinder. Heat is maintained in the coils to prevent 
the vapor from condensing and thereby remaining 
in the timber. As the vacuum pumps are constantly 
removing the hot vapor from the timber it is abso- 
lutely necessary to keep the heat above the con- 
densing point. To do this requires practical expe- 
rience and means of knowing what such heat is, 
and as said before, those two parts of the process 
are the most important, and if properly done, the oil 
will be readily forced into the timber. After this 
has been done the oil is admitted into the cylinders 
while they are under vacuum, and when all air has 
been withdrawn they are subjected to pressure until 
the requisite amount (which is determined by cor- 
rect gauges and thermometers) has been forced 
into the timber, which, if the timber has been prop- 
erly prepared, is only a small part of the process, 
but if this has not been well done, the oil cannot 
be put into the timber. The cells of healthy timber 
are full of different substances, which, when sub- 
jected to heat, can be changed into vapor, and, un- 
less the vapor has been completely removed, you 



cannot force the oil into the timber, no matter how 
long the pressure has been applied. It is only by 
practical knowledge and delicate instruments that 
we determine when the heat has readhed the center 
of the timber, and the vapor there formed has been 
removed. 

"There will be no decay in any part of the timber 
that has been permeated with the oil, but to have 
all parts saturated is expensive and useless ; for, after 
the timber has been thoroughly treated by the heat 
and vacuum process, it will last a long time without 
any oil, and if the crevices and pores are sealed 
up with the oil to a sufficient depth, the timber is 
as good as if the whole part has been thoroughly 
permeated with the oil. The quantity of the oil to 
be used should be determined by the use to which 
the timber is to be subjected. 

"The Dead Oil of Coal Tar used by us in the 
treatment of timber contains carbolic and cressylic 
acids which were the only two substances out of the 
thirty-five examined by Dr. Calvert which perfectly 
prevented the growth of fungus life, while it is an 
established fact that timber impregnated with Dead 
Oil of Coal Tar offers perfect resistance to the 
ravages of the Toredo, the other insects, wet and 
dry rot. 

"Dead Oil of Coal Tar is the only known material 
that effectually prevents the ravages of the marine 
worms and prevents decay." 

EPPINGER & RUSSELL CO., 

First street and Newton Creek, 
Long Island City, N. Y. 



209 



"THE GIUSSANI PROCESS." 

The process consists of submitting the tie to a hot 
bath of anthracene and pitch, heated to about 140° 
C. (284° F.) This anthracene and pitch having a 
high boiling point, shows no signs of ebullition at 
this degree of heat. Immediately upon the introduc- 
tion of the tie into this hot oil, ebullition takes place 
and steam and moisture passes off, showing con- 
clusively that some of the constituents of the wood 
are passing away. After a period varying from 2 
to 4 hours, this ebullition ceases, showing that the 
sap and moisture have completely passed off. 

After the above heating process, the tie is trans- 
ported mechanically into a cold bath of heavy oil 
of tar; remaining in this bath for a period of about 
10 minutes, again, it is mechanically carried into a 
bath of cold chloride of zinc, and remaining there a 
variable time, according to the amount desired to 
inject into the tie. 

If it is so desired, the tie can be treated with oil 
of tar alone. In fact, anything in a preservative line 
can be so injected into the ties. 

A guarantee that Beech ties shall last as follows: 
About 75 p. c. must last 10 years, 25 p. c. 12 years, 
and 15 p. c. 15 years. 

F. W. Drury^ Secy. 



^^0 



AffJ^rw OIL JOINT 
THE HOLLfjMD COffP^flY 
CHICRCfO. 





cku^9^. J*fi,^ ** ^f^-j^^ji )€-•. 



The Martin Oil Joint is adopted in this case to give 
flexibility at three different points. First to allow the 
reach of the connection to be held by the tower in a 
nearly vertical position when not in use; to allow it to 
be lowered to connect with the pump on the vessel 
and to accommodate itself to the varying position 
of the vessel. The joint has a rotary motion on the 
perpendicular of its axis and also a limited movement 
from the axis. Three joints are here used. 

211 









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214 



SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TREATMENT OF 
TIMBER. 

INTRODUCTORY NOTE. 

From the nature of the business and the var3nng 
conditions, few ironclad provisions can be fixed. ^ So 
many matters are the subject of judgment derived 
from extended experience and the varying character 
of timbers in the various sections of our country 
that, aside frorti a few plain rules, suggestions only 
can be dealt with. 

Then, again, only those processes that have been 
found effective by the test of time,^ and this suffi- 
ciently extended to give results sufficiently definite to 
satisfy the business public. 

When the following have been named the field 
seems to be covered, at least to date, to-wit: 

The Burnett or Zinc-Chloride process. 

The Wellhouse or Zinc-Tannin process. 

The Creosote process. 

And probably the Zinc-Creosote or Rutger process. 

Those processes above noted are treated as prac- 
ticed twenty years ago, and such modifications as 
have been suggested by subsequent experience will be 
noticed in appended notes. 

With regard to the CREOSOTE process, the cost 
of the oil has heretofore, and is still, a bar to its 
general use for the treatment of railroad ties within 
the scope of economy. To overcome this two proc- 
esses are being exploited by which a fair penetration 
is secured by a much restricted use of the oil, with 
the view to getting a fair treatment at a much re- 
duced cost. The Rueping process seeks this end by 
compressing the air in the timber, and with an in- 
creased pressure forcing the oil into the timber so 
as to permeate it, and then allowing the compressed 
air to force out a considerable portion, leaving what 
is claimed to be a sufficiency. The second, that of 
the Giussani, seeks the same end only by a different 
means. 

The question whether this reduced amount will 
give as good or better result than the chloride is only 

215 



to be determined by trial on the ground and in the 
track. The probabilities are such in each case that 
it is well to notice the matter in this connection. 

SPECIFICATIONS FOR BURNETTIZING. 

PROCESS. — ^This process consists of impregna- 
tion of timber with a diluted solution of Chloride 
of Zinc. 

METHOD OF APPLICATION. —This is done 
by introducing the timber into a hermetically closed 
retort, and the impregnation is induced by steaming, 
drawing a vacuum, and is expedited by pressure. 

STRENGTH OF SOLUTION.— The strength of 
the zinc-chloride solution must be such that is found 
necessary to secure the prescribed amount per cubic 
foot of timber, this amount having been determined 
by careful test of the timber being treated. 

ZINC-CHLORIDE, HOW^ MADE.— The zinc- 
chloride is made by combining zinc spelter with 
hydrochloric acid in such proportions as will com- 
bine perfectly, leaving no free acid. The fused chlor- 
ide now manufactured or a concentrated solution 
can be used, both of which are being used. 

QUANTITY REQUIRED. ---The quantity of 
chloride required per cubic foot should be approxi- 
mately one-half pound per cubic foot of timber. 

PURITY. — The zinc chloride, if made from good 
zinc spelter, will be measurably pure. If fused should 
contain not over 6 per cent of all impurities and not 
over one-half of 1 per cent of iron. 

METHOD OF IMPREGNATION.— The material 
to be impregnated is loaded on tram cars or buggies 
and run into a retort and subjected to: 

1. Steam (saturated and not superheated) filling 
the retort and held until the timber is heated com- 
pletely through to the boiling point under a steam 
pressure of not exceeding 20 pounds per square inch, 
for not less than such time as is found necessary to 
bring the timber to such temperature as above stated. 

2. A vacuum shall be drawn on the charge to 26 
inches if at or near sea level ; for 3,500 feet elevation, 

216 



not less than 23 inches, and for 7,000 feet, not less 
than 20 inches of vacuum— said vacuum to be held 
not less than one-half hour after such degree of 
vacuum shall have been secured. 

3. Without releasing the vacuum the chloride so-^ 
lution IS let in to the retort, and when the retort is 
filled pressure shall be applied by means of a force 
pump until a pressure of one hundred pounds is 
attamed, and so held until the desired impregnation 
IS secured. The retort is then opened and the charge 
removed. 

SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE WELLHOUSE 
OR ZINC-TANNIN PROCESS. 

PROCESS.— The Wellhouse or Zinc-Tannin proc- 
ess consists m impregnation of the timber with the 
chloride of zmc solution, essentially as in the Bur- 
nett process, with a prescribed amount of dissolved 
glue added, followed by an application of tannic acid 
m solution, by which the glue, absorbed with the 
chloride, is neutralized and changed into a "leather- 
oid," the two serving to some degree as a plug in 
the pores of the timber and as a deterrent to the 
passage of water into or from the timber. 

GLUE—Ordinary glue of commerce is used, that 
hig^hest in^ Gelatine being preferable. Such glue as 
will combine with about an equal amount of tannin 
extract should be selected. 

TANNIC ACID.— The extract of hemlock bark is 
usually employed, although there seems to be no 
reason why other tannin extracts should not be 
equally efficient. The tannin extract containing from 
j^5 to 30 per cent of pure tannic acid is used, but if 
lower in the acid, more of the extract can be used 

AMOUNT OF EACH.-The glue and tannin * to 
be used should, in the first place, be proportioned so 
as to combine completely, increasing that less strong 
m the essential qualities in larger proportion, each 
being made into a solution by adding pure water, 
the glue being added to the chloride solution and 

217 



applied with it, and the tannic solution being applied 
after the former solution is forced back. The amount 
of the glue and tannin should be not less than one- 
tenth of the amount of pure chloride used (each). 

STRENGTH OF SOLUTIONS.^ThQ strength of 
the chloride of zinc solution should be such that is 
found necessary to secure the absorption of the pre- 
scribed amount of pure chloride per cubic foot of 
timber, this amount having been determined by care- 
ful test of the timber being treated. 

The amount of glue should be not less than one- 
half of 1 per cent in weight of the whole amount of 
chloride solution to which it is added. 

The strength of the tannin soltuion should be one- 
half of 1 per cent in weight of the whole contents 
holding the tannin solution. 

TO MAINTAIN STRENGTH OF.—Glue, unlike 
the chloride solution, is depleted by contact with the 
charge, hence should be reinforced after each expo- 
sure, and with the tannic acid it is the same; hence 
each should be renewed according to the following 
rule: "To the amount of tannin solution absorbed 
add the amount of the chloride solution absorbed, 
and for glue and tannin add one-half of 1 per cent 
by weight each to its proper receptacle, preparatory 
to the next charge of timber. 

PROGRAM OF OPERATION,— The Wellhouse 
process consists of: 

1. The application of saturated steam under 20 
pounds per inch pressure until the timber has been 
heated to the boiling point to the center, for such 
length of time as is necessary to bring the heat of 
the timber to not less than 198 degrees Fah. 

2. The steam being released, a vacuum is produced 
to 26 inches at or near sea level, 23 inches at an 
elevation of 3,500 feet, and 20 inches at 7,000 feet 
above sea level, all as indicated by mercurial gauge, 
and this held for not less than 30 minutes. 

3. The vacuum being still held, the chloride, car- 
rying also the glue in solution, is introduced, com- 
pletely submerging the timber charge, and when the 

218 



retort is full, pressure is applied by means of a force 
pump until 100 pounds per square inch is attained, 
and so held until the desired or prescribed amount 
of impregnation is secured. 

When the chloride solution is forced back into its 
proper receptacle, the tannin solution is introduced 
and pressure brought to bear to a maximum of 100 
bs. per square inch and so held for about one hour 
and then forced back. 

This completes the operation and the charge is 
withdrawn. 

APPENDIX. 

Note (a) — Heating Solution, — Originally in the 
Wellhouse process no special heating appliances were 
used. During the steaming process the chloride 
solution was heated to about 100 degrees Fah. and 
maintained something like this temperature under 
moderate clirnatic conditions. Subsequent experience, 
however, indicates that all stages of the treatment 
are facilitated by heating the solutions before or dur- 
ing application to the timber. 

A still further and weightier reason is that the 
combination of the chemicals are much more com- 
plete. The appliances should therefore be adequate 
to raise the temperature to 140 degrees Fah. in the 
tubs, this being as hot as can be pumped, and then 
by means of heating coil in the retort the tempera- 
ture should be increased 40 degrees more, or to al- 
most boiHng point. 

Note (b). — ^Another modification of the Well- 
house, or rather of the zinc-tannin process, has been 
recommended and to some extent adopted, may be 
here noted. 

^ THE THREE MOVEMENT.--'Wherein the glue 
is made into a separate solution and applied after 
the timber has been impregnated with the chloride 
of zinc, and then followed by the tannin solution. 
Where timbers are very difficult to impregnate a 
larger amount of the chloride may be absorbed than 

219 



with the glue added, or at least such is the basis of 
this modification of the process. 

Note (c). — Another modification of the above men- 
tioned process is suggested by experience, i. e., that 
of drawing a slight vacuum on finishing the impreg- 
nation with the chloride solution, withdrawing a 
portion of the chloride from the outside of the tim- 
ber, where it is superabundant, thus allowing a 
greater penetration by the succeeding application, 
whether it be glue or the tannin, as in the first de- 
scribed Wellhouse process. 

The same will apply to the Burnett process, where 
complaints have been made of much waste from the 
drippings after removal of the charge from the re- 
tort. 

Note (d). — As before noticed, the action of the 
chemicals is found to be much accelerated by having 
the solutions hot, then with the same heating coils 
in action, after forcing back the solution and^ com- 
pletion of the operation, why not allow the action to 
continue, thus rapidly drying the timber by vaporiza- 
tion, which does not affect or withdraw the chem- 
icals, while it does withdraw the water rapidly. 

It is well that this be tested, as the drying to any 
extent, small or great, tells in the after handling of 
the timber. 

We discovered this fact in our small laboratory 
plant. 

Note (e). — Another modification of the Burnett 
process is that of first boiHng the charge in the oil 
without pressure for such time as will extract all 
the saps or moisture from the timber, then drawing 
out a portion of the oil by the vacuum pump and 
then introducing the zinc-chloride and putting it 
\mder the usual pressure of 100 pounds per square 
inch. This method of preparing the timber (season- 
ing) instead of using steam seems to commend 
itself. See post., pp. (223) Beal on Saturated Steam. 



220 



SPECIFICATIONS FOR CREOSOTING. 

PROCESS. — The creosote process is understood 
to be the impregnation of timber by the use of the 
heavy extracts of coal tar, which in turn is a product 
of coal distillation in the manufacture of illuminating 
gas. 

CREOSOTE consists of all the poisonous by- 
products of the coal distillation, and hence are de- 
structive to all animal and vegetable life, and seems 
particularly adapted to the preservation of the wood 
and in no degree injurious to the wood fiber. 

PREPARING FOR IMPREGNATION.— Tht 
timber is prepared for the reception of the creosote 
oil first by steaming the timber, as before described 
in Burnettizing and in the Wellhouse process, and 
following with the vacuum and introducing the oil 
while the vacuum is held. 

PRESSURE. — As soon as the retort has been 
completely filled, pressure to not exceed 100 pounds 
per square inch is applied and held until the desired 
or prescribed amount has been absorbed. 

HEAT OF OIL. — As the creosote oil hardens par- 
tially at a moderate temperature it must necessarily 
be heated, first in the receptacle in which it is stored, 
to a degree that will allow it to be pumped into the 
retort^ by the pressure pump by means of heating 
coils in the said storage receptacle, and then to a 
much higher degree after let into the retort by means 
of further and ample coils fixed in the retort. 

CREOSOTE STORAGE TANK.— Owing to the 
volatility of the creosote oil and the tendency to 
waste, the tank or receptacle must be of metal. 
(Steel,) and be covered. 

AMOUNT OF OIL REQUIRED.— In rmking 
specifications as to the amount of oil per cubic foot 
of timber to be required in treating, it is usual to 
require about as follows: For railroad cross-ties, 
10 to 12 pounds; for dimension timbers, IS to 20, and 
for piles, 20 to 30 or more per cubic foot of timber. 

As timbers vary so much in density and absorbent 
powers, it would seem better and to be almost the 

221 



only practicable method to base the requirement upon 
this quality of the timber and let it be determined 
by actual trial. It is well known that the oil, espe- 
cially the heavier and more valuable portion, cannot 
be forced into the timber to the extent that is possi- 
ble with the aqueous solutions without undue pres- 
sure that will injure the timber and result, after the 
pressure is removed, in a great waste of the oil. 

CREOSOTING. 

Note (a). — Another method of impregnating with 
creosote oil is that of boiling the timber in the retort 
without pressure until the impregnation is complete. 
This is covered with patent. 

Note (b). — ^Then, again, we have the Giussanni 
process, the creosote being contained in an unsealed 
vat of sufficient length (250 feet or more) supplied 
with heating coils, by which the oil is maintained 
at a high (boiling) temperature and the ties are 
loaded in sets of four or eight and carried through 
the vat at a very slow rate, allowing time enough to 
drive off all moisture, and finally the ties are plunged 
into a vat of cold oil for a few minutes and then 
discharged. In the process proper there is a tank 
of chloride of zinc solution, interposed between the 
hot immersion and the cold, the chloride solution 
being cold, by which the inner part of the tie is im- 
pregTiated with the chloride. The whole process is 
carried through automatically from the time the sets 
of ties are clamped in until they are discharged with 
treatment completed. 

Note (c). — "The Rueping process" consists sim- 
ply in pressing the oil into the timber. It is operated 
on the principle that by the application of air pres- 
sure the air in the timber is reduced to one-half of 
its volume, then the oil is let in at that pressure, 
and then, by means of the force pump, the air is still 
further compressed, the oil forced into every part 
of the piece, then all pressure is released and the 
compressed air is allowed to force a part of the oil 



222 



out again, leaving the timber fiber coated, but retain- 
ing only about half of the oil. 

Note (d). — When charge, having been treated by 
the ordinary process, comes from the retort, espe- 
cially if it has been subjected to overpressure, it will 
be all of a drip with clinging and oozing oil. In such 
case it will be found practicable to clean the surface 
of oil and to save much of it by turning on live 
steam so as to fill the retort and hold for a few 
minutes. Not only is there a saving of oil, but the 
condition of the timber is much better for handling. 



THE USE OF SATURATED STEAM. 

The following address of Mr. F. D. Beal before 
the Wood Preservers' Association at New Orleans, 
January 18, is thought to be worthy of reproduc- 
tion in this work. Mr. Beal is superintendent of the 
Southern Pacific Timber Treating Plant, West Oak- 
land, Cal. We reproduce it by permission and com- 
mend the freedom with which the matter is treated. 
This shows that the association is proving very use- 
ful. S. M. R. 

Of late years the demand for ties and structural 
timber has been so great for immediate use that 
manufacturers are unable to furnish a natural sea- 
soned product. Therefore to^ a great extent it is 
necessary to season our material artificially in order 
to supply the demand placed upon us. 

The question arises as to the best method of sea- 
soning, also as to what constitutes the preliminary 
handling of timber to prepare it for the injection of 
the preservative fluid. A great deal of discussion is 
arising at the present time concerning the season- 
ing of timber, as to the best methods of carrying it 
out, etc. 

Some maintain that all timber should be seasoned 
naturally, and not artificially, in order to secure the 
best results, which would mean only the evaporation 
of water contained in the wood. Others that, to 
insure perfect results, all wood acids and resinous 

223 



matters should be extracted, which would necessitate 
the artificial treatment to prepare it for the reception 
of the preservative liquid. Both sides are fortunate 
enough to be able to produce records covering the 
best of results in support of their arguments. 

Characters and conditions of timber vary so greatly 
that one has to be governed by the immediate sur- 
rounding conditions and do the best under the cir- 
cumstances. In the Burnettizing process, when green 
material is used for treatment, it is necessary to 
season artificially in order to prepare it for the in- 
jection of zinc solution. I found in my experience 
that the manner of seasoning had to be varied 
greatly, according to the character of the timber. On 
some classes of material I advocate air seasoning, 
on others I do not. 

On the Pacific Coast we have a sap pine which 
we term "Shasta sap pine," running 75 to 90 per 
cent sap wood. On this class of material I think it 
would be policy to thoroughly air-season before 
treatment, as this class of material when green con- 
tains a large percentage of sap water and wood 
liquids, also a large percentage of resinous pitchy 
matter. By air seasoning a large amount of this 
liquid would be eliminated, which would shorten the 
process of treatment to a large extent. 

But I think the process of ^ seasoning should be 
carried further after the material has been placed in 
the cylinder, if for no other purpose than expelling 
the air in open cells, which would act as a resisting 
force against the injection of the preserving fluid. 
This, of course, can be accomplished by applying 
saturated steam, heating the timber thoroughly 
throughout, forcing all air out and any liquid matter 
remaining in the wood which would act as food for 
any destructive fungi, also killing all diseases pecu- 
liar to tree life. 

As to safe temperatures, it would be pretty hard 
to set a standard that would be applicable to all 
classes of material. Some woods can stand a higher 
temperature than others without materially affecting 

224 



the^ vStrength of the fiber. Some classes of material 
which I have had occasion to handle I have carried 
as high as 280 degrees Fahr. without affecting the 
strength of the wood. On some classes of material 
this, possibly, would be pretty high. 

On the Pacific Coast we have occasion to treat 
with the Burnettizing process a large amount of 
Oregon red fir ties, which you all know to be a 
firm, close-grained wood. On this class of material 
we obtain much better results by treating in the 
green state. In allowing these ties to air season the 
resinous matter becomes congealed and so hard 
that we find difficulty in dissolving this matter in 
order to allow our solution to penetrate readily. To 
do it the steaming has to be carried to such an ex- 
treme that, as a result, the material is practically 
burned up and worthless. We found that we ob- 
tained much better results by treating these ties 
green, steaming them from three to four hours, 
and not allowing the temperature to exceed 280 de- 
grees Fahr., thus eliminating the resinous matter 
(which is to a certain extent in liquid form while 
the wood is green) much easier^ than if it had been 
allowed to harden by air seasoning. 

I do not wish it to be understood that I believe 
in steaming timber as the best method of artificially 
seasoning it, but of course in the Burnettizing proc- 
ess, when zinc solution alone is used as a preserva- 
tive, steaming is about the only way of applying our 
preliminary treatment. I believe that the process of 
using saturated steam as a means of seasoning tim- 
ber, so universally carried out in this country, can 
be improved greatly by using other methods. Al- 
though good results are being obtained by using the 
steaming process, especially on the more open- 
grained, spongy woods, yet in treating the more 
denser woods, such as Oregon pine, red fir, etc., the 
steaming proposition has proven to be a complete 
failure when it is applied to large dimension timber 
and piling in the creosoting process. On account of 
having to be carried to such an extreme, in order to 

225 



thoroughly steriHze and remove the sap, moisture 
and other destructive matter in the wood, the 
strength of the material was so reduced that it was 
practically worthless. 

There are a great many concerns using the steam- 
ing and vacuum process on these denser woods by 
using a limited amount of steam and then injecting 
the preservative. When applied in this manner good 
lasting results will never be obtained, for the mois- 
ture and destructive agents contained in the wood 
have not been removed, and the consequence is that 
the center of the material decays, leaving an outer 
shell of treated wood, the thickness of the depth to 
which creosote oil or other preservative liquid has 
penetrated. 

It has been found by long experience in treating 
these denser woods that most perfect results are 
obtained by carrying on seasoning similar to Boul- 
ton's method of boiling the timber or piling in creo- 
sote oil, an improvement being made in the process 
by cutting out the operation of a vacuum pump and 
simply allowing the vapor to come olff of its own 
accord, discharging into a surface condenser, through 
which cold water is circulated, thus creating its own 
vacuum by the elimination of sap and moisture con- 
tained in the timber. 

In this manner, by carrying a low temperature, say 
212 to 220 degrees Fahr., all the moisture can be 
extracted, the wood thoroughly sterilized throughout, 
and, one of the most important features of all, the 
exact dryness of the material can be ascertained by 
the amount of condensation collected in the hot well 
of the condenser, as all condensation collected rep- 
resents moisture from the wood alone, and is not 
mixed with condensed steam, which would be the 
case when saturated steam was used in seasoning. 

Seasoning timber in this manner has proven to be 
the most satisfactory method in existence, on account 
of its being applicable to any class of material with 
the best results, which cannot be said of saturated 
or superheated steam directly applied. It is the 

226 



most effective way of applying the heat, and you can 
accomplish the result with low temperatures, thus 
eliminating the possibility of injuring the wood fiber 
in any way by subjecting it to intense heat, which 
would be necessary were the seasoning carried out 
by steaming. 

The length of time required is no greater than 
when treating with a steaming process, and on some 
classes of material the time of treatment runs con- 
siderably less. There is one important feature in 
connection with seasoning timber in the above man- 
ner; in instances when close-grained, firm, hard 
woods are what we term "water seasoned"— that is, 
the natural sap and moisture has been displaced by 
water absorbed on account of piling lying in the 
water in rafts for a long period. Ordinarily it takes 
a long time to extract this water, especially when 
piles run in large diameters. I have treated some 
of this class of material when the time of extracting 
the water alone was 75 hours on a single charge. 
After remaining in this condition for so long a 
time, one would naturally suppose that the life would 
be taken completely out of the wood, but quite to 
the contrary is the case. The piles come out in per- 
fect condition, with hardly a sign of checking or 
crackinfif in any manner, and with nearly as much 
life and elasticity in the wood before treatment. 

I firmly believe that instead of^ steaming our pine 
ties to season them we should give them a bath in 
creosote oil, maintaining the temperature above the 
boiling point of water for the length of time neces- 
sary to extract the sap and other injurious ingre- 
dients, and then inject our zinc solution,^ we would 
have a far superior product, besides having an oily 
coating on the exterior of the tie to turn the mois- 
ture and prevent to a certain extent the leaching of 
soluble salts. 



227 



AS TO PROCESS AND AGENTS.* 

Perhaps one of the most important questions to 
be considered is the process you will decide to use. 
The whole trend of opinion seems now to be that 
only creosote or some modification of that agent, 
combined with other known preservatives, can be 
considered. With this view I concur as to effective- 
ness, but it must always be held in mind that to 
the extent that creosote is used there has to be the 
added cost of the creosote at the rate of three-quarters 
of a cent per pound, or nearly this over and above 
any mineral salt that may be used in combination 
with the oil. 

For a tie impregnation with 12 pounds of oil, 9 
cents per cubic foot, or 27 cents per average cross- 
tie, is added to the other items of cost. Were this 
alone to be considered, 35 cents instead of 12 cents 
(cost of zinc-tannin), it might be borne, but it is 
only inferior timber that will take this much with- 
out applying UNDUE PRESSURE which INJURES 
the texture of the wood, in which case the excess 
of oil will flow out again and be wasted, although 
technicall}'- the prescribed amount has been injected. 
Then, again, this same timber is scarcely ever pene- 
trated throughout half of its volume, it being im- 
possible, for well-established physical reasons, to 
penetrate the piece to the center, unless it be the 
very poorest and most porous timber (say Loblolly 
pine) over dried. Good, well grown timber of the 
better grade will not take 15 pounds to the cubic 
foot except by OVER- PRESSURE. 

Some process that combines the oil with the more 
easily injected chloride of zinc, the oil acting after- 
ward to protect the zinc, would seem to be in the 
direction of a better result than with the zinc chloride 
alone. 

Among all the suggestions that of Mr. Beal, man- 
ager of the Southern Railway Timber Treating 



*Extract from report, August, 1905. 

228 



plant, seems to be the most feasible — namely, to boil 
the timber in the creosote oil until the water (mois- 
ture) is expelled, then fill it with chloride of zinc. 
This method has not, so far as I know, been tested 
for a series of years, yet it is in line di common 
sense and is worthy of trial. Much more so than 
most of the new processes now being forced into 
public notice in advance of the TEST OF TIME. 

The penetration is slight, but it has the advantage 
of small expense of the oil, and as a more or less 
retarder of the absorption of water and a protection 
of the chloride of zinc, which will easily penetrate 
the coating of oil and fill the whole area of the piece. 

The Rutger or zinc-creosote process is quite well 
authenticated and may well be used in the treatment 
of both ties and timber. 

The process known as the "Allcrdyce," in which 
the timber is subjective to the zinc-chloride first and 
then subjected to the oil under pressure, I do not 
think can be of mtich value, as very little oil can 
be forced in, and that only the lightest and least 
valuable portion of the oil. 

Several other processes are being promoted indus- 
trially, among which the "Rueping" and the "'Gius- 
sani," the latter an old one revised. If (as seems 
well authenticated) the high pressure used injures 
the fiber and solidity of the wood, then there is one 
insuperable objection to it, as from 220 to 230 pounds 
of pressure is used in the Rueping process. (See note 
page 233.) 

In the practice of impregnating with chloride after 
steaming and the vacuum, as with the Burnett, zinc- 
tannin or the plain creosote oil, the rule has been 
well established that 100 pounds, or even less, will 
impregnate as well and as completely as a higher 
pressure, while a much higher pressure will separate 
the fiber and check the timber. 

Let us look at the matter from another stand- 
point. If we subject any timber to immersion in 
clean water, we find that the water is absorbed first 
quite rapidly, and then more slowly. The very open 

229 



wood, when well dried before immersion, will cease 
to take any at the end of about sixty days and will 
not exceed 55 per cent of the volume of the timber, 
and the mpre compact will take less, until the most 
compact will take but 15 to 20 per cent; the mean 
of some fifty different specimens will be less than 
30 per cent. When fully impregnated by natural 
capillary absorption, all the voids are presumed to 
have been filled and have become water-logged. 

In creosoting sound piles or timber only about 
one-half of the volume is reached, and the voids of 
one-half of each cubic foot would not be more than 
15 per cent, or 259.2 cubic inches, while 15 pounds 
of creosote would be about equal to two gallons or 
some 460 cubic inches, or 44 per cent greater than 
the voids in the timber. Anything in excess of this 
will be injected by over pressure and will gradually 
ooze out and be lost. 

^ In the matter of^ treating piling there is no ques- 
tion that the injection of creosote oil in the greatest 
practicable quantity is the true policy, but in doing 
so its absorption should^ be induced rather than 
forced, which if handled intelligently will be equally 
effective. An ironclad specification as to quantity, 
if made at all, should conform to good judgment, 
taking into consideration the above facts. 

I have gone into this phase of the matter more 
fully in consequence of many misleading theories 
and statements that have been current tending to 
throw discredit on well attested results of the less 
costly and more economical methods of treatments. 
COST OF VARIOUS PROCESSES. 

Taking the actual cost of the zinc-tannin process 
at four of the standard works in the United States 
as a basis, we have for a 3 cubic foot tie : 

Chemicals 7.81 cents 

Labor 4.61 cents 

Making total net cost 12.42 cents 

For a 3J4 cubic foot, this is equal to 15.26 cents — 
$3.45 per M. B. M. 

230 



In like manner the Rueping process would be, with 
S pounds per cubic foot, at 54 cents per pound for 
oil, for a 3 cubic foot tie, 15.85 cents, and for a 3^4 
cubic foot tie, 1978 cents— $4.40 per M. B. M. 

The zinc creosote would be two or three cents 
more, as in addition to the 5 pounds of oil there 
would be about Ij^ pounds of chloride. 

For full creosote with 15 pounds of oil per cubic 
foot a 3 cubic foot tie would cost 38.36 cents, and 
the 3J4 cubic foot, 47.95 cents— $10.66 per M. B. M. 

The Ruetger or zinc creosote has the advantage 
that the partial impregnation by the creosote is sup- 
plemented by the half-pound of chloride, which does 
completely permeate the timber. This is especially 
true with regard to dimension timber, such as bridge 
stringers and caps, and only less so with piles. I do 
not know what, if any, change there may be as 
royalty on the zinc-creosote process, but its records 
in the past and the character of the operation seem 
to demand that it be considered. 

In conclusion I would earnestly advise that in in- 
stalling works that it be made to cover each and all 
of the most tried methods. The zinc-tannin, the 
zinc-creosote, the Rueping and the straight creosote 
all require much the same layout, and when the 
latter is provided for, very slight additional cost will 
cover all the others. 



TO THE WESTERN SOCIETY OF ENGI- 
NEERS* 

It has been a work requiring much attention on 
the part of the managers of the Santa Fe Company 
to get the record, so far as to actual results, as to 
the effect of chemical treatment of their cross-ties. 

The records are not as complete as could be de- 
sired, but are so carefully kept, so far as kept at 
all, that we should not complain. These records are 

*Report to W, S. C E., Chicago, March 30, 1905. 

231 



perhaps of more value than most that have been 
kept, on account of the large number treated and 
the extended time covered. It is here undertaken 
to restore approximately the lapse of record of tie 
removals during the first twelve years, and the 
method it is thought can hardly be questioned. The 
result is conservative at least, and within the proba- 
bilities. 

This statement is now offered for the purpose of 
showing in a concise form the facts in relation to 
results of the Wellhouse, or zinc-tannin, process for 
treatment of railroad cross-ties on the A., T. & S. F. 
R. R. The timber treated was the Rocky Mountain 
pine of Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, with a 
slight sprinkling of pinon. The treatment was com- 
menced in 1885 under the supervision of the writer. 
Reports were furnished by the courtesy of the various 
officers of the railroad company, from which these 
tables are compiled. 

Unfortunately no records of removals were kept 
until 1897, twelve years after the treating was com- 
menced. In compiling the accompanying tables the 
probable removals are sought to be estimated by 
using the overage removals for the subsequent years. 
For instance, the diagonal for the first year, ''d" to 
"c," added together and divided by the number of 
years gives the average of the eight years from 1897 
to 1904, inclusive, giving one-hundredth of 1 per 
cent, the second year four-hundredths, the third year 
one-tenth of 1 per cent, and so on, so that in the 
fifth year only one and two-tenths per cent have been 
removed. This is less than are destroyed by acci- 
dent outside of that of decay. It is then fair to say 
that practically none fail until the sixth year. The 
same class of ties untreated were exhausted to nearly 
75 per cent in the sixth year, many failing at third 
year. Tables 1 and 2 are approximately correct, 
being compiled from, in some cases, fragmentary 
but still full enough reports to give a sufficiently 
close approximation for all practical purposes. 
Through President E. P. Ripley, General Manager 

232 



H. U. Mudge and Timber Agent E. O. Faulkner 
the annual reports have been furnished, so that most 
of the data is correct. Table 1 gives the percentage 
and table 2 the number of ties. This rate per year, 
as deduced from the later eight years, proves too 
high in the case of the 1885 ties by about 25 per cent, 
as those treated in that year sufficiently exhaust the 
number treated. To determine this quite definitely 
the percentage and the number also for the unre- 
ported years are correspondingly reduced. With sub- 
sequent years this reduction can onl}^ be done when 
they also approach exhaustion. 

The present condition, however, enables us to 
further judge as to the probable mean life of those 
treated ties. 

As none of the treated ties come out before the 
sixth year, we will take the ties treated in 1885 and 
1899, inclusive, numbering 4,567,588, rejecting all 
those treated subsequently; 1,283,552 have been re- 
moved. That is less than 30 per cent at mean life 
of nine years. Of the 11,091,774 ties treated up to 
and including 1904, less than 12 per cent were re- 
moved. No reflections are intended, but in justice to 
the railroad company and to the Wellhouse process 
due credit should be given. A limited number of 
these ties were treated by the Burnett process in 
1890, 1891 and 1892, but not enough to furnish defi- 
nite data to make a comparison between that and 
the zinc-tannin. Perhaps when these approach ex- 
haustion this may be done. 

Since the matter of page 229 in relation to the 
Rueping process as to the pressure required to inpreg- 
nate the timber, the Author has been able to investi- 
gate the operation and finds that most of the softer 
timbers are successfully impregnated with a maximum 
pressure of not to exceed one hundred and thirty 
pounds. Hence this process can be carried out in 
any of the plants now operating on the Burnett or the 
zinc tannin processes. 



233 



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238 



SUMMARY OF THE TIMBER PRESERVA- 
TION AT THIS DATE, (1905.) 

In this country, the treatment of railroad ties and 
timber only dates back twenty years with a few ex- 
ception efforts in a tentative way and in but limited 
quantities. 

The chloride of zinc and creosote (dead oil of coal 
tar), taking the lead as the agents, the former owing 
to the cost coming within the limit of economy has so 
far outstripped the use of the former that to-day 
scarcely one great railroad can be found using creo- 
soted ties systematically. On the other hand, ten or 
twelve of the largest railroad systems are fast filling 
their tracks with treated ties almost to the exclusion 
of untreated. These railroads are using either the 
Burnett, the simple chloride of zinc process or a 
modification, in which glue and tannin are employed 
as a retardent to help to conserve and to prevent in 
some degree the waste of the chloride by leaching. 

Mr. E. O. Faulkner, of the Santa Fe, estimates that 
up to last year, near 14,000,000 ties had been treated 
and placed in track in the IJnited States up to and in- 
cluding 1904, which is probably a conservative esti- 
mate. While this is but a small proportion of all ties 
in use, only about two and one-third per cent, even if 
all the treated ties were still in, probably about one- 
third of these have been removed in the case of the 
earlier years. 

The records are not as perfect and complete as 
could be desired but even in the face of imperfect 
records and with indications of imperfect treatment 
as a possible element, the zinc chloride has shown a 
great economy in the maintenance of the roadway. 

The summing up will undoubtedly closely parallel 
the estimate given in Hausser of the Midi Railway 
in his report to the Seventh Session of the Railway 
Congress, summing up the results in France, to-wit : 

"Although it is very difficult to give a rule at all 
generally applicable, it may however be said that 
there is a unanimous opinion that pickling materially 

239 



increases the life of sleepers; approximately the life 
is doubled in the case of oak sleepers, tripled in that 
of pine and quintupled (?) in that of beech." 

The interrogation point is interpolated as the as to 
quintuple, for the beech may be too high for this 
country. We know that with the hard maple (sugar 
tree), that the sugary saps cause incipient decay to 
proceed rapidly from the moment the tree is cut and 
the same may be true of the beech. 

Creosote, where full impregnation can be had, has 
almost invariably proved effective in prolonging life 
of the timber and in certain lines has been resorted 
to where prolonged life was very essential, notwith- 
standing the excessive cost. 

Two new processes are being experimented upon 
recently to impregnate using less of the oil so as to 
bring the cost down to the line of economy. 

The "Rueping" process does this by simple pres- 
sure, the timber to be well dried before treating. The 
"Giussani" process reaches much the same result by 
boiling in oil and suddenly cooling the timber by 
plunging into a cold oil or solution, trusting to natural 
laws to complete the impregnation. By either of 
these an impregnation to the amount of 4 to 5 lbs. of 
oil is forced in. 

This of course will cheapen the treatment but only 
the lapse of considerable time will demonstrate the 
degree of success. 

Whether it is wise to go largely into experiments 
of this kind is for each party interested to say for 
themselves. 

The records of the chloride treatments has been 
scanned carefully in the last few years and thus far 
we have little reason to believe that we in this coun- 
try are behind the old country either in method or in 
results. 

The "Rutger" or zinc-creosote process seeks the 
same result with a small additional cost, that of the 
three to five pounds of the creosote oil. (Editor.) 

Chicago, Oct. 12th, 1905. 

240 



CREOSOTE, 

With reference to where and how creosote oil or 
dead oil of coal tar is produced, the following extract 
is taken from a report made to the 7th Engineering 
Congress held in Paris in 1900, by Mr. Hausser, Chief 
Engineer Permanent Way, of the French Sidi Rail- 
way, to-wit: 

"In the case of Creosote, the specifications vary to 
a greater extent (than with the chloride or the cupric 
sulphate) as the substance itself varies, according to 
its origin. 

Most organic substances, if ignited in the absence 
of air, give volatile hydrocarbons (acetylene, ethylene, 
etc.), benzine, etc., and finally liquid and solid hydro- 
carbons (naphthaline, anthracene, etc.) 

When ordinary coal is distilled, the volatile hydro- 
carbons form coal gas, and the liquid and solid hydro- 
carbons go to the tar. 

The tar on distillation gives hydrocarbons and the 
bodies containing oxygen. In the distillation two 
phases are to be distinguished. 

^ At first, below 200 deg. C. (392 Fahr.), light oils dis- 
till over, they consist chiefly of hydrocarbons and of 
phenols. 

Subsequently, between 200 and 300 C. (392 and 572 
Fahr.), heavy oils come over; they contain phenols 
and are also rich in naphthaline (c 10 H. 8). 

Phenols differ from naphthaline in containing oxy- 
gen. Generally speaking the phenols may be con- 
sidered as alcohols capable of forming ethers with 
acids; but with sodium or potassium they form a car- 
bolate. 

It is true that the latter are not very stable, but this 
reaction shows that the phenols resemble acids. 
Hence phenol is sometimes called carbolic acid (C. 
6 H. 5 OH) 

Hence creosote is a mixture of light and heavy tar 
oils and in order that it may act as a preservative of 
timber it should consist chiefly of heavy oils. 

What the relative value of phenols and its homo- 
logues and naphthaline are as preservative agents 

241 



does not appear from the varying rules made by the 
different managements. 

The Danish State Railway specifies that from 20 to 
25 per cent of the creosote must be soluble in costic 
soda and that there must be as little naphthaline as 
possible present. On the other hand the French 
Western Railway thinks that a good creosote should 
be rich in naphthaline and often increases its per- 
centage by adding heavy oil. 

Creosote containing much naphthaline has the dis- 
advantage that is more viscous and requires to be 
hotter in order to be properly injected into the wood. 
Then also naphthaline has a pretty considerable 
vapor tension even at ordinary temperature and 
therefore volatilises easily; hence it may be feared 
that it would disappear pretty quickly from any 
pickled wood. 

The usefulness of phenol has never been disputed, 
and nearly all the specifications lay down a minimum 
percentage of phenol; in no case less than 5 per 
cent. 

In many cases the managements specify the qual- 
ity of creosote by laying down the percentages pass- 
ing over when fractionally distilled (at 150, 200 and 
250 deg. C. (302, 392, and 482 Fahr.) 

This is a useful rule, but an indefinite one, as the 
results obtained vary with the nature of the coal used 
and the way which it has been treated. 

The two principal sources of coal tar are in the 
manufacture of coal gas and in that of coke for met- 
alurgical purposes. The tar at the gas works is pro- 
duced at a high temperature, the coal being subject 
to quick destructive distillation; it generally contains 
much naphthaline and heavy product. 

The tar in coke-burning operations is obtained at 
lower temperature and the distillation is a much 
slower one ; it contains less naphthaline and more 
carbolic acid." 

ANALYSIS OF DEAD OIL OF COAL TAR. 

At date of writing (1905), there seems to be much 
diversity of opinion as to the method of determining 

242 



the value of this oil largely in consequence of the di- 
versity of the coals used from which it results as a 
residue or by-product, and also but little satisfying 
knowledge as to what of its various constituents is 
due its value as a preservative. It would seem that 
some method of separating the various constituents 
of the oil in such quantities as would allow the appli- 
cation of each in varied quantities and to different 
samples of timber and then exposing the samples to 
the attack of the teredo or to the white ant, both very 
destructive to the timber, would be of much value in 
the desired direction. Exposure to the elements as 
in railroad cross ties or bridge timber requires too 
long time to recommend itself but would be valuable 
in the course of years. 

Whether it is practicable to separate the constitu- 
ents of the oil by distillation or by some more com- 
plicated chemical process is a question that is sug- 
gested to be answered by experts. 

At this time such knowledge is of the first import- 
ance and it would seem necessary that it should be 
determined before much progress can be made in the 
application of this oil to timber preservation under- 
standingly. If it should be proven that some of the 
constituents are of no value as a preservative ane 
still should be of value for other purposes, therd 
would be a distinct gain from a knowledge of this 
fact. (The Author.) 



243 



TIMBER TREATING AND TESTING 
LABORATORY. 

The establishment of a testing laboratory for the 
investigation of principles involved in the practical 
treating of timber by the Bureau of Forestry will 
meet another line of inquiry heretofore but imper- 
fectly provided for. 

Even among those most experienced in the matter 
it often occurs that differences arise in the interpre- 
tation of the nature of the physical agencies involved. 
It is important that each and every one of these 
should be carefully and systematically studied and 
that authorative conclusions be arrived at, the same 
as is done in other lines of inquiry. In addition to 
this, all agents for the chemical treatment of timber, 
both known and such as may hereafter be suggested 
from time to time should be treated in the same 
manner, carefully and exhaustively. 

To enable this to be done, provisions should be 
made to cover every possible phase by the most per- 
fect appliances and machinery with the widest scope 
of functions for experimental treating and for the 
study and analysis of the agents used. 

The preservation of timber is one of the most im- 
portant measures toward the conservation of the 
forests of this country as it applies directly to one of 
the heaviest drafts on the timber supply, that of 
cross-ties and bridge timber for railroads. Treated 
as here proposed, it certainly is a proper line of in- 
vestigation by the department and must result in 
great benefit to all concerned and to the country, at 
large. Heretofore, in applying to chemists for aid in 
the study of the chemical agents, the lack of a 
thorough understanding of the methods of application, 
has been a distinct embarrassment. The treatment 
and study of the chemical agents should go together, 
the most intimate relations being maintained between 
the operator and the chemist so that each shall co- 
operate having a thorough understanding of both 
parts of the investigation. 

244 



The practical operator of the day, may be able to 
carry out the various functions accurately and with 
skill while he may know little of the nature of the 
chemicals; on the other hand the chemist cannot fully 
comprehend the relation of the chemical agent to the 
practical handling of the appliances during the pro- 
cess unless he understands the practical workings. 

When, as here proposed, the two lines of inquiry 
are carried forward jointly, the result should be defi- 
nitely valuable if followed by a systematic study of 
the result on the timber by subjecting it to the action 
of the elements, both in use on some convenient 
track under heavy traffic and under such forced tests 
as are practicable at the laboratory. 

Intimately connected with this investigation is the 
matter of record of state of the treated timber from 
time to time during coming years, in which the pro- 
gress of decay is noted. 

It would be of sufficient importance, too, in this con- 
nection to have untreated timber laid at the same 
time, as thus one important element in the inquiry 
would be determined, that of relative life by which 
the value of any treatment can be determined. 
There is little definite knowledge as to this at this 
time, authorities differing widely. 

Chicago, Oct. 24th, 1905. (R.) 

Some orignal studies relating to laboratory plant 
are here introduced so as to preserve this record. 



245 










RETORT No. 2 STUDY. 
246 




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RETOBT No. 1 STUDY. 
249 




DOOR RETORT No. 1. 
250 




STUDY OF CAR FOR RETORT No. 2. 



251 




FOSTER SUPERSTRUCTURE. 
252 




CIRCULATOR FOR THERMOMETER, TO SECURE 
AVERAGE TEMPERATURE. 

253 




RETORT No. 3. 
254 



SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE TREATMENT 
OF TIMBER 

On page 215 ante the author has called attention 
to the fact that owing to the wide range in the 
character of the timber desired to be treated, no 
special rule as to the quantity to be injected can 
be fixed upon. The common practice has been to 
fix the amount per tie or cubic foot of timber, where 
contracts are being made between a railroad com* 
pany and a private company who contract to treat 
the ties. 

The implication follows that when the contractor 
has put this much in, he has satisfied the specifica- 
tion. With the zinc-chloride it will be seen that 
a wide open door is left by which merely by rais- 
ing the strength of the solution, the specified amount 
of the chemical can be secured while but a small 
part of the tie is impregnated. This also applies 
where creosote oil is used in connection with the 
chloride of zinc. 

We have always kept it before our readers that 
"THE MATTER OF FIRST IMPORTANCE IS 
TO SECURE THOROUGH IMPREGNATION" 
the matter of quantity being of secondary import- 
ance. 

In making contracts, this should be considered and 
guarded first of all both in the specifications and by 
rigid inspection by a competent inspector thoroughly 
competent and experienced and well paid; because 
such experience cannot be acquired except at the 
expense of much time and money on his part. This 
he can well afford as by attaining such skill as he 
should have, his value will be doubled. Thus it 
will be up to the contractor to do his work right, 
and not to be able to fall back upon a provision of 
the specifications that are faulty, as above shown. 

It is a common practice when quantity is specified, 
to stop the process when the requirement is met, 

355 



and before the receptivity of the charge is ex- 
hausted, and the impregnation incomplete. This is 
radically wrong and shows such a specification to be 
faulty. 

PILING AND SEASONING BEFORE TREAT- 
ING, AND DRYING AFTER TREAT- 
ING OF TIES. 

Much has been written in relation to this matter 
largely based upon theory. 

First ; it is urged that the timber cannot be impreg- 
nated without seasoning, and then again that they 
cannot be put into track until dried again. Then 
again, it is claimed by the same authority that the 
ties should not be dried too quickly as the timber 
would check in consequence. What are we to be- 
lieve ? 

Query. Does not the checking take place largely 
during the air seasoning and not after treating and 
should not this be attended to before treating? 

It is not proposed to enter into a controversy on 
these points but to^ say that by following these theor- 
ies, large expense is incurred to no purpose. 

With regard to this as well as many other ques- 
tions, it is well to leave them to the manager of the 
works with freedom of judgment as the best guide, 
only specifying that the report as to conditions and 
reasons shall be truly reported. 

If ties cannot be well dried as is often the case, 
they should be treated so as it can be known that 
they are well impregnated. The amount of creosote 
must be a matter as to what the timber will take 
after being properly prepared for impregnation, and 
if the ties will dry out quickly as they will, this too 
should be left to the judgment^ of the manager. 
There is no reason why treated ties will dry out as 
they often will, before they can be laid, should be 
carefully piled in the yard and again reloaded. All 
these matters are largely a matter of judgment with 
the operators, experience furnishing the guide. 



A treating Plant for any process may be designed 
and operated successfully, but it must conform to 
the following: 

FUNDAMENTALS TO BE CONSIDERED IN 
PLANS 

First. That the works should be proportioned 
throughout to secure the desired output. 

2nd. That each part should be proportioned to do 
the desired work, still each proportioned to all the 
other parts so that there be no useless or surplus 
capacity or useless cost. 

3rd. That each part perform its function in the 
most direct and in the simplest manner. 

4th. That every part be of the best manufacture 
and the most reliable for lasting service so that re- 
pairs shall be infrequent, saving loss of time and 
expensive maintenance. 

5th. That the working parts be so arranged as 
to be promptly operated with the least manual labor. 

6th. That plans of all the essential parts be fully 
planned and prepared so that there be no extra 
labor or delay during erection. 

7th. That the arrangement of the works be such 
that accurate measurements and weights shall be 
provided for so that it shall be possible to know 
what is being done, at any or all times. 

8th. That the operator of the works shall be 
thoroughly competent, experienced, thoroughly hon- 
est and faithful, so as to be a safeguard between 
the two parties concerned. 

In the practical part of the operation of timber im- 
pregnation entire good faith between the railroad 
Company and those who contract to treat their tim- 
ber, is in all respects the best. If the specifications 
are right and the works properly arranged, the com- 
mercial instinct should cut no figure, as the work can 
be rushed to full capacity of the works without detri- 
ment or prejudice to either party. 

The records of past treatment have been lowered by 

259 



"rush work" undoubtedly, whereas first class work 
would have been done at no additional cost. 

Thorough and competent inspection is the only 
safeguard and will redound to the advantage of both 
parties. 

It has been the principle of the author to hold to 
straight, honest work based upon correct principles 
and hereafter as heretofore to strike at every depar- 
ture towards slack work or erroneous notions and this 
will be done without fear or favor. 



COST OF A TIMBER PRESERVING PLANT 

We are able here to give a fair approximate cost 
derived from past experience by accumulating the 
aggregate of cost of the various contracts with the 
manufacturers, the three retort being most often 
called for, at the same time the most economically 
operated and is here^ tabulated for the several pro- 
cesses, the figures given being deemed a safe net 
cost covering a possible advance in prices of metal 
and machinery, etc. 

The first item in the table is net cash cost, the 
second, a conservative estimate of capacity to treat 
average railroad cross-ties of three cubic feet each, 
and the third item, the weight of machinery on 
which to compute cost of freight. 



Process 

2 Retort Wks 
Capacity... 
¥t. Mach., etc. 



Burnett 

$54,600.00 

4,200 
707,800 lbs. 



Zinc- 
Tannin 
$56,600.00 

3,000 
749,600 lbs. 



Zinc- 
Creosote* 
$56,600.00 

4,200 
749,600 lbs, 



Rueping' 

$64,250.00 

5,000 
785,200 lbs. 



Creosote* 

$53,400.00 

4,200 
707,800 lbs. 



This should cover a complete plant with the best 
and most suitable wooden buildings, concrete foun- 
dations and everything ready to operate, not in- 
cluding lands or the standard railroad tracks in 
yard. 

Any excess in cost we would deem due to un- 
skillful designs or miscalculations. 

*Note. When creosote oil is used there should be 
added for storage of stock of oil: first, a tank well 

260 



proportioned for accurate tank measurement and for 
special heating appliances called usually the "work- 
ing tank" which must be of steel and of such ca- 
pacity as to keep on hand hot oil sufficient for the 
operation of the plant. 

Secondly, a steel tank of sufficient capacity to 
store three months' stock of creosote oil The cost 
of this stone tank, estimated at about $3,500, should 
be added to them marked with star. (*) 




'r'Xi^-^ia::*! — 



CAST STEEL HIGH PRESSURE RETORT DOOR AND FLANGE. 

(ROWE & ROWE.) 

261 



LEAD LINED SOLUTION TANK 




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Y9M4n VC Bt UNCO miTN CCS LEAD m< 



tr 



LEAD LINING FOR WOODEN TANK. 
(ROWE.) 



262 



CHEMICAL TREATMENT OF TIMBER 

[Engineering News] 

The stress now bearing on the^ railroads of this 
country, owing to the increasing difficulty in procur- 
ing wooden cross-ties and their rapidly increasing 
cost, has forced attention to the necessity of method 
of prolonging life and to broadening the field of sup- 
ply. 

The question of still further broadening the field 
by resorting to metal has been suggested, but it is 
to be apprehended that the greater cost of metal and 
the superiority of the wood will bar this for a long 
time yet. 

While the^ chemical treatment of the wood has been 
resorted to in this country for a comparatively short 
time and only in isolated cases, enough has been 
learned to demonstrate its value and to prove its 
economy and its adaptability to a great number of 
timbers not heretofore suitable or valuable for this 
purpose; thus very much broadening the field of 
available supply. 

Many tentative efforts in this direction have been 
made in this country during the last half century by 
various processes and by various agencies, but owing 
to the less amount called for and the abundance of 
timber of the best quality, of tie timber there was 
but little advance made. 

Now that the railroads are, using a slang but very 
expressive term, "Up against it," attention and inter- 
est compels action and no one subject connected with 
railway maintenance is being more generally dis- 
cussed. Not only discussed but action is being taken, 
and a strong desire evinced to take the best means 
to make the action effective. 

Up to this time, two agents have been employed, 
that of Chloride of Zinc and Oil of Coal tar (Creo- 
sote), the latter the most effective but the former 
most economical. 

Results so far in this country show that by the 
Zinc-Chloride treatment the life of the soft woods 

263 



is more than doubled, meaning a mean life of from 
eight to twelve years for pine that usually lasts from 
two to five years. It must be understood that this 
is the mean life, the actual life being from five to 
over twenty years for the treated pine ties against 
two to seven years for the untreated ties. 

The treatment with creosote gives perhaps twenty- 
five to fifty per cent, more life than with the chlo- 
ride treatment, but at from three to four times the 
cost with the same timber in both cases with the 
further difficulty that many of the timbers that it 
may be desired to treat, cannot be penetrated except 
superficially. 

We propose here to notice the various methods 
resorted to, and proposed to be resorted to in the im- 
pregnation of the timber: 

First: The Chloride of Zinc. 

Second: The Zinc-Tannin. 

Third: The Creosote or dead oil. 

These comprise all that have been tried in this 
country of which we are able to offer extended 
records that are authentic enough to be gainsaid: 
the first, that of the Southern Pacific Railroad with 
a mean of eight and a half to nine years for Burnett- 
ized pine ties and in the second case near twelve 
years for pine ties on the Atchison. Of ties treated 
in 1885 and removed in 1905, twenty years in track, 
4,600 are near four per cent., and there are doubtless 
still some of the 1885 ties still in track in spite of 
mechanical wear and notwithstanding that a large 
part of the line on which these 1885 ties were laid 
has been ballasted with crushed hmestone ballast 
by which some were prematurely removed. 

Of course efforts are being made to discredit this 
agent by those whose disinterestedness is open to sus- 
picion, and the statement is being made that the 
chloride treatment has been abandoned in the old 
countries, — for what reasons? — and that creosote 
alone is effective. We will surmise that there may 
be another reason for its abandonment, — that of the 
cheapness of creosote oil which but a few years ago 

264 



was almost unsaleable, there being but a limited de- 
mand for it. This is a surmise by no means discred- 
iting the chloride process, and a condition no longer 
possible under present conditions and so valuable 
an agent as the creosote can never be much cheaper 
than now. 

Unless the price of creosote oil can be held below 
present prices its use cannot be economical for rail- 
road ties where ten to fifteen pounds to the cubic 
foot is required, and even twice this is sometimes 
absorbed by the softer pines. In case where piles 
are treated especially used in salt water to protect 
against the Teredo, the largest amount is justified 
both for effectiveness and on account of the hmited 
quantity of timber used. 

There is no question but that the creosote oil is 
a valuable agent for the purpose. My attention was 
called recently to a case where Southern short leaf 
pine ties were treated with creosote in 1880-82; near 
seven per cent, were still in service at twenty-four 
years. In 1885 Zinc-Tannin treated ties, four per cent. 
were still in at near twenty years, a parallel which 
seems to be about the relative value of these agents. 
It would be well to remember that these soft wood 
ties are likely to fail under rail and spike wear at 
less than twelve years. 

The combination of these two agents is a newer 
fiejd that is well worthy of exploration, holding in 
mind however, that sound business policy which we 
expect from railroad managers, will require results 
before employing such an amount of capital for a 
plant commensurate with the great quantity of tim- 
ber to be treated as well as the cost of operation 
and chemicals, without some assurance of the desired 
result when they have done so. It would hardly 
be safe to assume that the reduced amount of oil 
proposed (four to six pounds per cubic foot) could 
be relied upon as effective until demonstrated by 
time and test. 

Two of these^ methods are the Rutger Zinc-Creo- 
sote and the Ginssanni in which both creosote and 

265 



chloride of zinc are intended to be combined; the 
former is an emulsion; in the latter by first boiling 
the timber in hot oil and then plunging it into a 
vat of cold chloride of zinc solution. The Ginssanni 
process would seem to be a fair treatment for rail- 
road ties if the absorption of the chloride is com- 
plete, but seems to be only effective as to penetration 
in very soft open wood. Were the penetration of 
the chloride complete even if the oil penetration was 
only partial, between the two it should be a very 
fair treatment for the soft timbers. 

The Rutger or zinc-creosote process has been 
under trial for many years and as the oil penetration 
even in the red oak seems to be quite complete and 
that of the chloride quite as complete as in the 
Burnett and the Zinc-Tannin, there is no reason why 
it should rank with them with a strong probability 
of even better results. I have not the records at hand 
to show what the average life of these treated ties 
is. Mr. Octave Chanute estimates mean life above 
that of the Zinc-Tannin. 

The Rueping process is also a process seeking com- 
plete penetration by a partial dose of oil. It is based 
upon the principle that the only way that complete 
penetration can be secured is by means of a strong 
compression of the air in the wood (usually 35 to 40 
per cent, of the volume of the tie), applying 60 to 
80 pounds of air pressure on the charge and then 
while holding this pressure forcing in the oil by us- 
ing twice this pressure on the charge until the wood 
is impregnated, thus releasing the pressure and al- 
lowing the compressed air to force out a portion of 
the oil. The result is when six pounds of oil per 
cubic foot is introduced, or rather forced in, about 
two pounds will be returned, four pounds re- 
maining in the wood. My observation shows that 
the softer and open grained woods are well impreg- 
nated but that some of the more compact woods 
cannot be well impregnated, when it is practicable ta 
permeate the same woods with chloride of zinc as 
in the Burnett or Zinc-Tannin, Zinc Creosote, etc. 



The means taken in the Rueping process to extract 
a portion of the oil are the best and most effective 
known, but the doubt still remains as to the utility 
of using a limited dose of oil. When we have a 
few years' time to observe results we shall be better 
able to judge, but it would seem worth while to try 
it by those that have the means and are willing to 
incur the expense. The probability seems to be that 
the results should be equally good with the chlorides. 

The use of a vacuum for the extraction of oil once 
forced into the wood will not do it beyond the amount 
that will paint a dry tie, say one pound per cubic 
foot, we judge as with the aid of the hardly com- 
pressed air as applied by the Rueping operation will 
only bring out .30 per cent, of the six pounds intro- 
duced. A larger amount can be forced in if a higher 
pressure is applied and the compression of the air in 
the wood be omitted, but it will be done to the seri- 
ous injury of the wood fiber by forcing in more than 
the natural voids of the wood will hold. Immedi- 
ately on removal of the high pressure the oil will 
commence to reject this surplus and will continue to 
do so until the timber returns to its normal condition, 
the surplus oil meantime going to waste. The true 
policy in timber impregnation is to induce rather 
than force permeation. This is believed to be largely 
due to the steaming. 

The methods used for securing impregnation of 
the timber by inducing the absorption with a moder- 
ate amount of heat and such degree of pressure upon 
the solution or oil has been quite generally followed 
for many years, in the Burnett, the Zinc-Tannin 
and in Creosoting. It consists of: 

P'irst, steaming ; second, application of the vacuum ; 
third, the introduction of the solution or oil. That 
this has been the best and most effective seems to 
be quite apparent. It must be remembered that this 
program was established and practiced for the last 
forty years and its correctness has not been seriously 
questioned until recently. And furthermore, those 
disputing its propriety or correctness as meeting the 

267 



physical laws and conditions seem to be questioned 
either by new students of the matter without suffi- 
cient experience to grasp the matter in all its bear- 
ings, or by parties with some new patent or device 
and with self interest as the main impelling motive. 

The application of steam^ to the timber is claimed 
to be both unnecessary and injurious, especially under 
high pressure. In the above cases experience shows 
that above about twenty pounds per square inch is 
injurious, hence this was made the rule. It is, and 
has long been known that the fiber can be destroyed 
by steam as the fact is known that under very high 
pressure steam pipes will show a red heat. 

It has been claimed and loudly proclaimed that 
twenty pounds steam pressure will reduce the 
strength of steamed timber 25 per cent. More recent 
careful tests by a well known and capable chemist 
seem to indicate that the injury is nothing like this 
and proves so small that it may be safely ignored. 
Farther investigation may show the entire fallacy of 
this too hasty conclusion. 

But no matter. We know that the steaming per- 
forms a very essential part of the process, fitting the 
wood for absorption of the chemicals, heating and 
dissolving the juices, and filling its place with ex- 
panded vapors by which the air is largely exhausted 
by the aid of the vacuum^ following. No other agent 
can be used to bring this condition about so effec- 
tually. Not only this, but the fiber of the timber 
is softened for the time and eventually toughened 
much as if the timber had been air-dried for a long 
time. Subsequent examination of the timber of rail- 
road cross-ties shows that the spike drives with less 
injury to the wood, holds better and that rail wear is 
very much reduced. This is believed to be largely 
due to this steaming. 

Then, again, while much has been said about the 
necessity of air-drying ties for several months before 
allowing the timber to be treated, which is conceded 
as desirable in some cases, in others, impracticable 
as with the loblolly of the south in which case as 

368 



well as with ties from the mountains of the Repub- 
lic of Mexico, rot so as to be useless in two years 
if not treated, as decay will commence in a week and 
progress far before they can possibly be air-dried. 

Any one well versed in the matter knows that 
under ordinary conditions where a large plant is in 
operation that it is impracticable to thoroughly air- 
dry all the ties before treating. Some ties dry in a 
comparatively short time, while others require much 
more time. It is hardly worth while to argue the 
matter farther as we know that the bulk of ties 
treated to-day are not all dry and that the enforce- 
ment of such a rule is impracticable. 

Then again, there are many timbers that are more 
easily impregnated when freshly cut than dried, 
such as the pines and fir of the Northwest as well 
as those of the Pacific Slope. 

Then again, there are timbers that can be impreg- 
nated by steaming and the use of the Chloride of 
Zinc with the greatest difficulty and with creosote, 
not at all. Conceding this view, then it follows that 
not only can green fresh cut ties be impregnated but 
any mixed lot can be brought to a uniform condition 
by steaming. 

There can be a gallon of dissolved timber juices 
per cubic foot of timber, or in other words something 
like twenty pounds taken from the tie. This is sup- 
posed to be solid matter dissolved and drawn out 
by the steaming, and we have a right to suppose that 
it consists of germ food, largely. 

The rule of allowable pressure of one hundred 
pounds per square inch while in solution or oil has 
also been criticised and the assertion has been very 
emphatically made, that higher pressure will not in- 
jure the timber fiber even up to 600 pounds per square 
inch. We know that 200 pounds will come near 
opening up a piece of oak and will check an ordinary 
railroad tie and admit more solution than will fill 
every void twice over. While this would not mater- 
ally injure the ^rength of fiber it will cause easy 



parting of the wood and admission of water later 
to the more rapid decay. 

Those who are using the Zinc-Chloride have been 
somewhat concerned by the claim made that the 
Chloride of Zinc leaches out of the timber rapidly. 
An effort has been made to do this by long continued 
and oft repeated ^ series of immersions in water, 
drying and analyzing, shows that a small, regularly 
decreasing amount does waste out but after near 
eighteen months only 28 per cent, of that absorbed 
originally, was extracted. 

The writer has worked for many years in the in- 
terest of honest and effective work in relation to this 
subject, giving to every phase of the conditions to 
be met and to the solution of every phase and condi- 
tion and to every principle involved. Long and pa- 
tient experiments have been made in relation to every 
point involving every one of those embodied in this 
article and it is believed that while their correctness 
in many cases is denied and by others criticized as 
incorrect, yet it is believed that they will be sus- 
tained eventually. The Forestrj^- Service has been 
organizing a force to systematically investigate the 
whole matter with a view to settling authoritatively 
many or all the disputed points and to this we will 
look forward with much confidence. In advance of 
such however, we are willing to stand by what we 
have written even though overridden by a flood of 
objections. 

From present knowledge we will not believe that 
a better knowledge of the matter exists in any for- 
eign country, even Germany, as knowledge has never 
come freely from that source in particular. 

Goethe, the great poet, over 100 years ago exclaimed 
with impatience, "The Germans have the art of mak- 
ing science inaccessible," and Baron von Humboldt 
supplements this by explaining that "An edifice can- 
not produce a striking effect until the scaffolding is 
removed." 

If in fact men of high abilities have built up the 
industry under consideration, what was true 100 

270 



years ago is yet measurably true to-day, and those 
essential principles and methods involved in the art, 
and art it is, have been very careful to obscure their 
knowledge, and are not in condition to-day to prove 
their pre-eminence in knowledge or in priority of 
discovery. What we have been favored with has 
been through our scholarly Octave Chanute, C. E., 
and we doubt whether any more thorough knowledge 
and experience has been attained in Germany than 
here. 

A revived candidate for favor that is being pro- 
moted is that of Vulcanizing, or in other words, 
roasting the wood. Whether sufficient heat can be 
employed without burning the timber seems doubtful. 
It seems probably that the same result, to wit, thor- 
oughly seasoning, can better be secured by judicious 
steaming which is about the only method that will 
guard against burning the fiber In kiln drying 
lumber resort is being had in moist air; (Or in other 
words, steaming under light pressure) instead of 
using dry hot air. 

More light is needed before we can judge as to the 
value of the Vulcanized process. 

Chicago, Dec. 7, 1906. 

THEORY OF STEAMING TIMBER 

Chicago, April 30, 1905. 
Mr, A, A. Robinson, President, Mexican Central R. 

R. Co,, Mexico City, Mex. 
Dear Sir and Friend : 

Introductory to the subject of your letter, I think 
it well to refer back to the time over twenty years 
ago, when all the information I was able to acquire 
was mainly from the patentees who then owned the 
"Wellhouse Process" as to the whole method of the 
operation and the philosophy and physics; and when 
the whole responsibility for the proper operation was 
placed upon myself, I considered it my duty to do 
as I have done in every case in my many years of 
active duty on questions of railroad engineering and 

271 



constructions, to go to the bottom of it if possible. 
In this case I was able to enlist my son who succeeded 
me the following year. This study formed the basis 
of the journal then commenced as a necessity to the 
direction of the operator of the plant. To this has 
been added the information derived since by years 
of labor and thousands of dollars of expense and 
which I send you under separate cover, as 1906 Edi- 
tion of "Preservation of Timber." Undoubtedly, 
there are many errors, of some of which I am well 
aware, which^ should come out in a revision. This 
I can find neither time nor means to do at present. 
You will see that almost every essential element and 
physical principle involved in the operation of im- 
pregnating timber under the Burnett, The Wellhouse 
and almost all other processes, have been investigated 
with great care and I believe that my conclusions 
will be found correct and that they will benefit the 
honest student. 

Since I have fallen back on the planning and in- 
stalling works for a living and have erected some 
very good plants, most of which are in efficient and 
effective operation, the tendency of humanity to ex- 
periment has led to questioning some of the rules 
laid down originally by which good results have been 
attained, among which is the one in hand. I think 
however, that the preponderance of evidence is still 
in favor of the correctness of those laid down includ- 
ing the steam seasoning. 

A man goes to Germany about three years ago 
and talks with the timber treaters there, returns and 
immediately enters the field as an expert in the busi- 
ness and also immediately concludes that the chloride 
of 2*inc treatment was a failure in this country. . 
' :One of the hardest things to understand is th^t 
he, through governmental backing, impliedly, if not 
actually succeeded in holding up the whole business 
ih this country in a measure, and not only this, tO 
throw discredit, both on the many workers "and upoii 
results obtained: Not only this, but the schemes of 
various promoters have been taken up, and exploited 

272 



some nonsensical and some that when properly prov- 
en by time, may be of value, but that any one with 
so short an experience should set himself up as a^ 
authority is almost incredible and shows but little 
conception of the broadness of the whole question. 

By a series of experiments he proves that steaming 
weakens the timber. This was known many years 
ago, as was the fact that excessive heat applied by 
steam or by any other means would burn up the 
timber. Witness the effect often seen in creosoted 
timber where super-heated steam had been used. 

Therefore, the conclusion by implication is that 
Creosote and Creosote alone is to be the successful 
agent. 

It is well to mention in this connection, that he has 
lost sight of the fact that many of the timbers that 
should be treated cannot be impregnated without 
steaming, and again, that some timbers like the 
loblolly and the old field pine cannot be dried fOr 
any considerable time without going far toward de- 
cay. 

Then again the universal use of dead oil is im- 
possible first, because but a minor portion of the 
timbers that should be treated, can be impregnated 
by any known practicable means, and again, it has 
long been known that creosotitig is too expensive 
except for special cases where specially long life is 
sought 

Now let us see that all is thus ruthlessly brushed 
aside. In 1885, you ordered the Las Vegas wotks 
erected to use the chloride of zinc, or rather the 
Wellhouse or Zinc-Tannin process in the impregn'^- 
tion of the Rocky Mountain Pin6 ties. At that tittle 
you gave me a sample of a cross tie treated for the 
tttost perishable timber which had seen seventeen 
years' service in track, yet perfectly sound which in 
itself was a fair assurance for the future and an 
apparent justification for an appropriation for works 
and the necessary stock of chemicals, etc., yet a large 
sum for those days. 

Now, as to the results to-day. 

273 



The mean life of the untreated ties (pine) 1880 
to 1886, five years, was computed to be four and a 
half years as in 1886, over three quarters of the ties 
laid in 1880 were taken out rotten so completely as 
to be entirely worthless for fuel. The next point to 
note is that the treated ties were found to remain 
entirely sound until the sixth year with a very small 
percentage on the sixth year principally from break- 
age and mechanical wear. 

Then again, assuming that removals do not com- 
mence until the sixth year as is also true as to hem- 
lock ties treated by the same process by the Chicago 
Tie works, we take all the ties laid and removed 
from track from 1886 to 1900 previous to 1905, some 
4,560,000 or about 28 per cent, of the total treated 
and laid, including failure from^ all causes at an 
average of life of ten and two-thirds years.* 

The Santa Fe record is not as complete as we 
could desire, but its trend is unmistakable, showing 
that we get a mean life of nearly twelve years as 
against four and a half years for the same kind, of 
ties untreated. 

From time to time, appeals have been made to 
me as to the admissibility of the omission of the 
steaming. I can only point to the above record, 
as beyond this, I DO NOT KNOW.^ In my ex- 
perience I see much to lead me to believe that loss 
will be incurred by its omission, or in fact, any 
omission from the original Wellhouse program. 

Quoting from your letter : "From the very nature 
of the case, it seems to me that the idea that the 
ties must be seasoned is fallacious for the reason 
that the chief point in securing good treatment is to 
draw from the timber the juices, saps and acids con- 
tained in the wood, and it seems to me this can be 
more readily done before they are dried out and 
while they are in their liquid state." 

"^Note, I have removals just reported by Mr. 
Faulkner for 1905 showing that 4,600 of the 111,000 
ties treated in 1885 were taken out in the twentieth 
year of service. 

274 



Confirming your views above quoted it is a fact 
that the timbers in the west slope of the continent 
are best treated direct from the mill and these tim- 
bers cannot be penetrated without steaming. My ex- 
perience at Kalispell, Mont., confirms what Mr. W. 
G. Curtis and Mr. Isaacs of the Southern Pacific R. 
R. Co. have long insisted. 

Another omission, should be mentioned, that of the 
glue and tannin. 

It was early complained that nobody could find 
the leatheroid. The trouble was that they looked in 
the wrong place. In Wellhouse treated ties in Texas 
it was early observed that with the loblolly (the most 
perishable timber) in ties where the corrugated 
tie plate rested, that the surface of the tie was cut 
into, presumably breaking the protected tie so that 
the timber rotted away in the form of an inverted 
bowl leaving the body of the tie measurably sound. 

The true place to discover the protecting quality 
of the leatheroid is in the general appearance and 
condition of the tie after six or eight years' exposure 
in service and comparing it with the Burnettized or 
even with the untreated tie. To those able to read 
as they run, this will be quite apparent in what I 
call the "integrity of the tie." I know no better 
name for it,^ where the tie is full and sound long after 
untreated ties have started to go in pieces or even 
those Burnettized. 

Further omissions may be suggested with a view 
to saving any expense whatever, but it seems as if 
the economies secured at the expense of ten to 
twelve cents per tie, that the rules under which the 
before mentioned results are secured are best ad- 
hered to until something better is devised and 
proven. 

By the careful observer, the omission of the steam 
seasoning as suggested, comes largely from the com- 
mercial side in the discussion. Mr. Phillippi's quo- 
tation from my book which expressed the belief that 
the steaming was an essential part of successful im- 
pregnation as well as a seasoning of the timber, 
drew forth "left-handed applause" from the com- 

375 



mercial crowd that, unfortunately, due to the reason 
mentioned at the opening of this letter, seemed to 
dominate the convention. 

. Certain matters in relation to timber impregnation 
seern to be fundamental, among which are: 

First: No iron clad rule or specification can be 
drawn to cover the handling of every timber condi- 
tion and every part of the country; to beHeve it pos- 
sible will indicate but a limited conception of what 
such an undertaking comprises. Only honest study 
and extended experience with the added COMMON 
SENSE will meet each and every case. 

Second : That some timbers can only with the 
greatest difficulty be impregnated by the aid of steam 
and the vacuum; without, not at all. 

Third: That if desired, timber cannot always be 
secured uniformly dry, and that some timbers cannot 
be treated at their best when delayed to be thorough- 
ly dry, as before stated. 

Fourth and lastly: Creosote cannot be utilized to 
the exclusion of the Chloride of Zinc and other 
agents; first, because many timbers cannot be im- 
pregnated by any known practical process; secondly, 
as to railroad cross-ties on account of excessive cost 
with timber that can be impregnated. 

In conclusion I call attention to the fact that we 
have thirty-seven years' evidence of the value of the 
Wellhouse or Zinc-Tannin and it seems the proper 
thing to keep it until something better is offered with 
at least a reasonable record. 

I must beg your pardon for this long dissertation 
but you must understand that is done under severe 
provocation and in a case where a man feels like 
sharing the stress with another. 

With kindest personal regards, I am, 
Most respectfully yours, 

(Signed) Samuel S. Rowe. 



276 



PROGRAM FOR TESTING AMOUNT SOL- 
UBLE MATTER REMOVED BY STEAMING 

In the impregnation of timber, whether with oil 
or with zinc chloride, the present practice is to sub* 
mit the timber to the action of steam, the vacuum 
and finally to direct contact with the oil or solution 
with a certain degree of pressure. We can weigh 
the charge between and after the treatment and the 
increased weight may be taken as the actual amount 
absorbed, but it will invariably be found that this 
excess or increase in weight will not equal the 
actual amount drawn from the tank. To account 
for this, we should inquire what takes place during 
the process, it being evident that so much of the 
solution or the oil is lost in some way, or that during 
the process of steaming something is extracted from 
the timber during its contact with the steam. The 
latter is the most probable and indeed it is easy to 
see that much of the timber resins and juices appear 
in the ofiF-fall to the sewer during the steaming, but 
how much of this is timber sap and how much is 
condensed steam cannot be easily determined. 

Ordinary observation^ will show that the steam 
does not disturb the insoluble cellulose or wood 
fiber matter in the wood. If we weigh very dry 
timber after drawing the vacuum we find that it 
is slightly heavier than before, but if we do the 
same when the timber is green and sappy, we 
find it considerable lighter; hence we have reason to 
infer that a larger amount of sap has^ been extracted 
from the green than from the dry timber. 

Further than this what takes place during this 
part of the process is not known, or at least has 
never been published by those knowing. 

If we weigh before introducing again after steam- 
ing, again after vacuum and finally after withdraw- 
ing, we may gain some knowledge. 

The temperature of the timber at each stage if 
carefully taken might aid too, as it is quite im- 
portant to know this in connection with the former 

277 



facts and the time required to treat the wood clear 
through. 

The thermometer could be introduced into holes 
previously prepared, deep enough to allow the bulb 
to reach the center. This of course would give only 
an approximate, but near enough to give a fair 
knowledge of the temperature of the wood at each 
stage. 

Various experiments are being made, at what cost 
remains to be proven, among which are the substi- 
tution of the Burnett for the Wellhouse process and 
the omission of the steaming from each. One more 
omission would bring us back to the point of start- 
ing, where 20 per cent, renewals are required in- 
stead of 6 per cent, as has been demonstrated. 

The omission of the steaming, even where the 
wood is exceedingly dry still leaves something lack- 
ing in the process. The absorption of so much 
chloride may be attained without difficulty, but the 
juices of the timber remain — one of the important 
matters at which the steaming is aimed and which 
cannot be reached in any other way. 

This is more important with some kinds of timber 
than others as the sugary saps go much farther in 
the promotion of decay than the turpentines, but in 
case of the latter there are elements that are better 
removed. It is hardly conceivable that a railroad 
company will experiment in this way, and I believe 
that if the facts as to results so far were closely 
studied and more freely disseminated, that its un- 
wisdom would be apparent. 

There has been so much tendency to pare down 
and belittle results under the idea of being con- 
servative, that the whole matter has been thrown 
under a cloud of doubt. 

A more sanguine treatment would seem genial 
and wiser, particularly as in keeping the records, 
failure from other causes than decay are inseparable 
in the summing up. Ties destroyed by derailment 
and from decay taking place before treatment and 

278 



breakage or crushing from overloading swell the 
failures even in the earlier stages. 

The purpose of this paper is to encourage this 
investigation b}^^ the co-operation of several of the 
operators of existing works and to be able to com- 
pare the results for the benefit of all. 

The following program is suggested as meetings 
the case, to wit : — 

First; weigh the last two cars in, these being the 
most convenient to get at, before closing retort. 

Second ; take out and ^ weigh, when steaming is 
completed, at the same time taking temperature. 

Third; again weigh after vacuum, again taking 
temperature. 

Fourth; again weigh immediately after with- 
drawing charge. 

The Fahrenheit thermometer requires a quarter- 
inch hole with a bit cutting a clean hole to the 
center of the tie and can be introduced and read in 
a minute or two, giving at least an approximate. 
Suggestions are in order. 

(For results, see Table on Page 184, ante.; also 
New Tests at Evansville.) 

CHICAGO TIE PRESERVING COMPANY 
Terre Haute, Ind., Nov. 8, 1906. 
Mr. Samuel M. Rozve, 

Chicago, III. 
Dear Sir: — 

In reply to your letter of Nov. ist, I have made 
several experiments within the past month on red 
oak ties, in order to ascertain the amount of creo- 
sote oil that can be withdrawn from^ the wood by 
means of a vacuum. In these experiments the oil' 
was admitted to the cylinder without exhausting the 
air from the wood first. 

Where oak ties are well seasoned and weigh from 
forty-five to fifty pounds to the cubic foot, I have 
been able to withdraw from one to two and a half 
pounds of oil per tie with a twenty-six inch vacuum 
maintained for one hour. The wood in this case, 
being well seasoned, will yield but a very small 

279 



amount of oil when the vacuum is applied. Where 
the wood is not so well seasoned, and weighs in the 
neighborhood of fifty-five pounds to the cubic foot, 
more oil can be withdrawn, as the oil does not 
penetrate to a very great distance. In this case I 
have been able to withdraw from three and a half 
to five pounds per tie in one hour, with a vacuum 
of twenty-six inches. 

Oak ties will absorb from two to three times as 
much oil if the air is first withdrawn from the wood 
than they will where the oil is forced into the wood 
without exhausting the air; and for this reason it 
is impossible to withdraw but a ^ small amount of 
oil by means of a vacuum. A tie that is in con- 
dition to absorb fifty pounds of oil, will take only 
from twenty to twenty-five pounds of oil if the air 
is not first exhausted. Therefore it will yield but a 
small amount when the vacuum is applied after 
treatment. 

In the Rueping process where eighty pounds* pres- 
sure of air is first maintained for one hour and the 
oil then admitted without destroying the air pressure, 
I have found it impossible to inject into a red oak 
tie more than from five to ten pounds of oil per tie 
with a pressure of i8o pounds per square inch for 
three hours. 

Average volume of the ties used in this experi- 
ment ==: 2.75 cubic feet. 

Very truly yours, 

J. B. Card. 

Note: This letter is here deemed worthy of 
preservation, as Mr. Card is a son of J. P. Card, 
deceased, one of the earliest and best authorities on 
timber preservation in this country; and his ex- 
perience has been long and continuous. What his 
tests here given show, is well worth pondering as 
relates to the amount of oil withdrawn. 

(Refer to P.— Over pressure.) 



WASTING AWAY OF CHLORIDE OF ZINC 

In the treatment of timber by the use of the Chlo- 
ride of Zinc almost the first impression that strikes 
the new investigator is that owing to the extreme 
solubility of this chemical salt it is liable to 
quickly waste away. Without further argument the 
conclusion is drawn that it is quickly exhausted and 
that decay at once sets in, and the fact is that the 
arrival at this conclusion is generally considered 
sufficient to condemn it as a preservative. 

This conclusion is fallacious from the fact that 
it is based upon wrong premises.^ That there is some 
waste is conceded, but that this waste is of suffi- 
cient importance to condemn the Chloride of Zinc 
as an agent to prolong the life of the timber is all 
wrong. The Wellhouse process (Zinc- Tannin) is 
based upon the idea of reducing this waste. 

The amount of this waste may be judged by ex- 
posing the treated tie to frequent exposure of the 
piece to a series of exposures to the most severe con- 
ditions possible, that of placing^ the piece in water, 
removing and drying, the analysis as to loss and then 
repeating this for a long time.* The waste shown 
by analysis was found considerable at first, but gradu- 
ally reduced at each trial so that after several tests 
the loss almost ceased and the total loss proved that 
less than 28 per cent, of the original amount had been 
extracted. 

By relying on test of treated ties after long expos- 
ure, is often misleading.^ A tie in which decay has 
far progressed before being treated wall be found in 
after years to contain much of the Chloride^ still 
present, while a sound, well impregnated tie will be 
still sound after many years of exposure, retaining 
but a trace. The fact is that a well grown, close 
grained wood does not take anything like the quan- 
tity of the chemical in the first place, and does not 
need it. Common sense should make evident the 
futility of treating wood where decay is^ more or less 
. * (Experiments made by F. J. Angler, when the 
test was carried on over a year). 

281 



present already and to treat such is a foolish and vain 

expenditure of money. 

To Whom it may Concern : 

The question has been asked: "How long will the 
antiseptic sap combination of chemicals stay in the 
wood after it has been injected?" 

The answer to this question is, that the effect of the 
chemicals on the wood will remain as long as the 
wood lasts, for the reason that it destroys the germ 
upon which the agencies combine to cause decay. 
The absolute penetration of the chemicals into every 
part of the wood, destroying the germs, is what prevents 
the heat, air and moisture from having anything to 
work upon to generate the growth of fungi, or to 
cause fermentation, which means decay. 

In treating green lumber, the cells of which are 
filled with sap, the chemicals combine and oxydize 
the sap, making it a part of the preservative. 

In treating seasoned lumber, where there is no sap 
to be combined with the chemicals, the chemicals be- 
ing a preservative within themselves, act only to kill 
the germs remaining in the wood. 

The chemicals are of such a nature and combina- 
tion that either green or seasoned lumber can be 
treated without the use of the dry-kiln, which so often 
impairs the value of lumber by overheating. 

After the solution has done its work of destroying 
the germs, evaporation takes place which leaves the 
wood filled with the oxides and carbonates, chlorides 
and sulphates to act as a preservative to prolong its 
life and lessen its liability to check and warp. 

Should climatic conditions reduce the amount of any 
of the chemicals, it will not reduce the effect pro- 
duced, for the reason that the chemical action so 
changes the original condition of the wood that all 
germ-matter which generates a fungus growth is 
destroyed. 

We should rather look to the results of the treat- 
ment as shown by the records of results in the pro- 
longed life of the tie under service, and by taking 



into consideration all the conditions under which the 
tie has passed in being treated, and deduce there- 
from a much more philosophical explanation of 
what has taken place. Even if there is some waste 
during subsequent years, it is not clear but that the 
chloride has done its work in the resolution of 
the elements of decay thus preventing decay for a 
long time. The result seems to indicate that this is 
true when we take into consideration the well at- 
tested fact that very little decay takes place in six 
years and an average of near twelve years' life is 
secured with a timber that decays beyond any use 
in six or seven years and a mean life of not over 
five years. 

Possibly this same philosophy may be applied to 
the action of creosote, particularly as relates to the 
more volatile ingredients popularly supposed to be 
of little value. Like the work of the chloride, it may 
do valuable work while it is evanescent and entirely 
disappears. 

The primary effect of this may be somewhat as 
the disinfectant used in cases where an infectious 
disease has existed; it does its work at once in the 
fumigation of the clothing and the premises, no 
repetition being needed. 



CS3 



OVER PRESSURE ON TIMBER 

Chicago, Sept. 17, 1906. 

My Dear Angier: Your welcome letter of the 
lOth inst. came to hand to-day. The main point of 
your letter is in regard to effect of pressure to which 
the wood is exposed in the sealed retort under high 
pressure. I do not think that wind pressure on the 
standing tree is a parallel at all. We know that 
overstrain on the tree results in what are termed 
"Wind-Shakes," but that they arise from that press- 
ure that gives place to inflow of a liquid far beyond 
the natural capacity to absorb, or in other words, 
beyond the natural voids of the wood we cannot see. 

One of the first experiments made on my small 
laboratory plant showed that with 300 pounds' press- 
ure on paving blocks of similar dimensions, an ex- 
cessive amount was injected, so much in excess of 
the known capacity of water-logged wood and in ex- 
cess of what can be retained that the solution was still 
flowing out twenty-four to forty-eight hours after 
removal from the retort. Of course this effect would 
be magnified by the short length of the blocks over 
timber of considerable length, but it demonstrates 
the effect only of the increased degree, the principle 
and the effect being the same. 

In the case mentioned where the blocks were sub- 
jected to 300 pounds' pressure to impregnate, the ab- 
sorption was 58 per cent, of the volume of the timber, 
while the average absorptive power of the pine is 
about 27 per cent, in volume. This is twice what 
the timber will hold, consequently the over-plus will 
waste out. 

If you will visit some of the Creosoting Works 
where piles are treated under 150 pounds to 180 
pounds pressure, you will see the same effect only 
in less degree. 

Similarly in treating paving blocks where the 
creosote was loaded with an equal amount of bitu- 
men, one charge was impregnated under 200, the 
amount ultimately held did not differ greatly except 

284 



that the oil could be pressed out of the end by the 
strength of the hand in case of the former, while the 
latter was quiescent. 

Over twenty years ago I had the advice of Mr. J. 
P. Card and Mr. Wellhouse, the patentee of the 
"Zinc-Tannin" process, as my tutors in the business 
of timber impregnating, the latter having then some 
eighteen years' experience in the business. As a 
result of this experience was the iron-clad rule, "not 
to exceed lOO pounds' pressure." Since then I have 
found a tendency to try to hurry absorption by using 
a higher pressure. I confess to allowing the trial 
but in no case has the result been found appreciable 
as to expediting absorption. 

I would call attention to a marked characteristic 
of ties treated under this rule and those subsequently 
treated, where attempts have possibly been made to 
hasten the operation by using the higher pressure. 
The former, even in later years of life, eight to 
twenty years after treating remain sound on t(>p 
but wMth one main check in the middle of the upptt 
side, while those of the latter ^ treating part into 
numerous strips. Gf course this might ha vS pro- 
ceeded from some other cause but the presuniptiofi 
is strong in my mind, as I know of no other cause so 
likely to have produced this particular effect. 

I cannot help as to the Rueping or the Lowry pro- 
cesses you mention, where as high as i8o pounds 
per square inch is used; in the former, however, 
the required pressure has been reduced to a point 
where it would not be very excessive and a little 
damage to the tim.ber may be allowable if thereby 
good impregnation and cheap treatment is secured. 

I have always labored to treat every question 
candidly, and have labored many years, (findings m3r^ 
self) and have given to all the results of my labdrs,^ 
but when anyone tells me that I am^ all off' in ^this 
matter and that 600 pounds will not injure the tim- 
bery I feel like challenging this most emphatically. 
The old rule of 100 pounds is given as the limit ^of 
all allowable pressure, the presumption being that 

285 



the 100 pounds will not materially injure the fiber. 
I have tried the injection of oil into a pile with an 
appliance by which I hoped to impregnate it at the 
ground surface and found that even the most solid 
oak would split at 150 pounds, but this is a differ- 
ent condition. 

The 300 pounds of retort pressure may not mater- 
ially affect the strength of fiber, but it is the after 
effect developed in the course of years by exposure 
to the elements, where the effect becomes of con- 
sequence. 

In the summing up of the whole matter of timber 
impregnation, I think that it resolves itself into in- 
ducing rather than forcing, and that success largely 
depends on producing conditions by which the timber 
will take up the oil or the solution by the action of 
natural laws. 

In the cases herein mentioned, short blocks were 
used, hence the effect was greater than with long 
sticks, yet this serves to demonstrate the principle 
in question. Under the 500 lbs. pressure the volume 
was increased five per cent, on withdrawal, while 
those subjected to 100 lbs. pressure were about one 
per cent. In both cases after two months' drying the 
volume returned to near the original volume. 

Samuel M. Rowe. 



Note: In creosoting it requires from 150 to 180 
pounds to impregnate even the most open timber 
when in the shape of piles and even this pressure 
will not penetrate sawed dimension timber to any 
considerable depth, and in no case is the timber 
permeated to the extent that it is with the chloride 
treatment. 

286 



THE USE OF COMPRESSED AIR FOR SHIFT- 
ING SOLUTIONS AND OILS. 

In the treatment of timber, the solutions and oils 
should not only be quickly shifted but what is still 
more important is that they should not be scattered 
and wasted but should be kept at all times so that 
the quantity shall be easily determined at each stage 
of the operation. 

The practice of dumping from the retort and re- 
turning by means of a pump is not only clumsy and 
uneconomic, but renders measurement less prompt 
and less accurate. By means of compressed air it is 
cheaper and more promptly done and less subject 
to error. 

The notes appended are from good authority, and 
are introduced here, as well as a very useful table 
for computations relative to air machinery and ap- 
pliances. 

With a view to increase the accuracy of tank 
measurement, where practicable to use a working 
tank of smaller dimensions, increased accuracy may 
be secured by reducing the diameter. 

TEMPERATURE OF COMPRESSED AIR. 

Atmosphere at 32 deg. F. compressed to 100 pounds 
pressure per sq. inch a temperature of about 340 
degs. at point of discharge from compressor. When 
discharged into a reservoir confined in a pit whose 
temperature is from 80 to 90 degrees, it loses about 
40 degs. As applied to a Timber treating plant and 
used for forcing back oils and solutions, it is from 
15 to 20 degs. higher than atmospheric pressure when 
15 pounds per sq. inch is used. 

ECONOMY OF COMPRESSOR VS. PUMP. 

Under a total head of 18 ft. the pump is the cheap- 
est, 18 to 22 ft. the same, 22 ft. and above Economy 
in favor of the Compressor. 

287 



INGERSOLL-RAND CO. 

Table showing the relative volumes of compressed air at 
various pressures. 



bf 'o-^i 








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A- 
INSPECTION OF TIES 

IN TRACK. 



This "forirj is inteTtde'^ -for use where treaied ties 
9re US6^ po'^'j or whoHj. The fnst co(umn to 
cover ^kcle SfieiUn, 1-2.-3 vp t& 10,000 if desired^ 
equ&\ t© tw© er ihreQ miles- 

This p3^^ to pWe ahhr€v\silon. of ii^mes of 

timber. 

SAM'L M. ROWS", c. e". 

CONDfTJOH: 

Colwmns 7, 8, 9, <o sw<2 I «, degree of decay. 



C3PC 


KWPOFTJMB£« 


C»J>ff 


»l«i5 0FT5MMS 


A 


As??, W?JiV 


• 


Locosf, Whife 


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Ash, Reo? 





Oak. YfTiJTe 


6 


BeccK 


Ro 


C^k, RecE 


C 


Cod&^.'Hhife 


Bo 


0*k, Black 


Re 


Cedar, ReA 


V/o 


Offk, Mtefcr. 


Ch. 


CJsestBMf 


3<a 


Oak, 8©;s fie Are 


Cr 


Cypress, White 


Po 


Oek, Pocf 


Cr 


Cyfress, Rsd 


P 


PxTif. M©onf«m 


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SI 


PiVic, ShoH Leaf 


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wt 


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Pc 


Pec«n 


fit 


Qv-m, Red. 


Pin 


Pmon 


Ow 


Gvm.yf^hite 


S 


5ytfct more. 


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Sp 


Spruc<»jWh»7e 


Hp 


Miclujry. Pxpnui- 


5^ 


Spruce, Re<t 


H 


Herploek 


T 


Tamarack 


Hi 




B*v 


WalTiuf, Black 


J- 


U*4JSf.BU*ck 


W»v 


WalTiuf, V^hife 



289 



INSPECTJON OF Ties 




n 




i 




11 


— 1 

CONOtTIOH 


1^ 




4 


'1 



















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































290 



INSPECTION OF TIES IN TRACK. 
RECORD OF RESULTS. 

No matter what theories may be promulgated as 
to value of treatment of timber for prolongation of 
life, or how plausible these may be, after all, the facts 
are what count and are conclusive. Many attempts 
have been and are being made to determine the value 
of each method, but so far they are desultory and in 
a measure, unsatisfactory. 

The subjoined forms are offered that some con- 
venient and concise system may be adopted at small 
cost of time and money, by which a record may be 
kept that will secure the desired result. 

The inspection and record may be made on short 
representative sections of the line from year to year 
by any competent section foreman. The section fore- 
man who is competent to say when a tie should be 
removed should be competent to make the inspec- 
tion. 

One or two sections of one mile or even less should 
give the data desired for any line of railroad. This 
would give some idea of the life of untreated ties 
which we heretofore have only by guess. 

The blanks "B" should be securely wire bound 
at the top on stiff backing fifty in each pad on the 
back of which sheet "A" shall be pasted so as to be 
easily refered to. 

The sheets "B" should not be detached and the pad 
should be returned intact. 

It is believed that to secure the most accurate 
record that all treated ties should be plainly stamped 
and notwithstanding there has been much controversy 
in regard to the best method of doing, we still believe 
that the stamping hammer shown on Page z^ is the 
best. The cost of stamping at the works before the 
charcre goes into the retort is small and has the ad- 
vantage of avoiding the neglect or imperfect per- 
formance of this necessary part of the operation. 
See Section 12, page 24. 

291 



It is easy to see that the value of any treatment can 
only be judged by careful record of conditions from 
year to year. 

At this writing, no or very little record is found and 
even this is discredited by many writers who possess 
but limited knowledge of the facts, and seem to be in 
too many cases impelled by self-seeking motives, 
and too often accompanied by little or no practical 
knowledge. Now, how is it possible for those desir- 
ing the facts, and how is it possible to know them 
without an honest and accurate inspection long con- 
tinued? 

It is believed that any writer on this subject who 
has the good of the work at heart will avoid misrep- 
resentation, secure in the belief that time will vindi- 
cate their position and can afford to wait while those 
who write without knowledge will find their record 
marked with signs of their mistake and a revelation 
of their motives. 

THE ZINC CRESOTE (RUTGER) PROCESS. 
Joseph B. Card. 

It is the desire of the writer to call attention in 
this article: 

First: To the zinc-creosote process which is used 
extensively in preserving railway ties for the Prus- 
sian Railway Service, and to some extent in France. 

Second: to^ an inexpensive method for agitating 
chloride of zinc and creosote pil while under pres- 
sure, which will enable the use of the above men- 
tioned process in this country at a very reasonable 
cost. 

In 1872 the German chemists agreed that by adding 
a small amount of creosote oil containing carbolic 
acid, to the chloride of zinc solution, much better 
results would be obtained in the preservation of ties 
than by the use of the chloride of zinc solution only. 

As both the individual merits of chloride of zinc 
and creosote oil were well known, a com.bination of 
the two solutions was recommended, based upon the 
fact that the carbolic acid contained in the tar oil is 

292 



soluble in considerable quantities in a chloride of 
zinc solution, thereby the impregnation fluid^ could 
be made to penetrate more easily into the interior be- 
cause^ with the addition of carbolic acid it has the 
capacity in a degree to dissolve the resinous con- 
tents of the wood. This cannot be accomplished with 
the pure solution of chloride of zinc. 

In a paper by Mr. A. Schneidt, formerly Superin- 
tendent of the Imperial Railways, Alsace Lorraine, 
which was published in part by O. Chanute, C. E. 
the following theory is advanced: 

"In the watery solution of the chloride of zinc, 
the carbolic (Phenols) acid contained in the tar oil 
added, is partly dissolved; and in this diluted form 
it penetrates the cellular tissue of the ligneous body 
far more readily and surely than the less readily fluid 
tar oil." 

"The presence of carbolic acid also produces a 
potential solubility in the^ resinous constituents of the 
wood, whereby the chloride of zinc solution is better 
enabled to penetrate the fatty resinous woody strata, 
and into the heart" 

"In the judgment of chemists it may also be as- 
sumed that owing to the greatly attenuated degree of 
the chloride of zinc solution, and in the presence of 
the carbolic acid, a basic zinc "phenylate" is formed 
from the chloride of zinc oxide, through the agency 
of the bases of the salts which occur in wood ashes ; 
and that this "phenylate" of zinc, being insoluble 
in water, favors duration by opposing the leaching 
out of the impregnated ties. 

"The preservative action of the dissolved carbolic 
acid is decidedly more potent than that of the chlo- 
ride of zinc; and as carbolic acid is also much less 
soluble in water than chloride of zinc the addition 
of a small quantity of tar oil containing carbolic acid 
will also arrest the decay of the wood which absorbs 
it. The heavy oils of the added tar oil do not as 
readily penetrate the wood as the more fluid solu- 
tions of chloride of zinc when reinforced with the 
dissolved carbolic acid; the former oils remain jn 

294 



the outer woody layers of the tie, and form a very 
thin stratum, more or less obstructive to the entrance 
of water/' 

In 1874 Julius Rutger who operates most of the 
tie treating plants in Germany, introduced for the 
first time what is known to-day as the Rutger pro- 
cess. 

At the present writing the process consists of in- 
jecting the equivalent of not less than one- third of 
SL pound of the dry salts of chloride of zinc per cubic 
foot, and in addition to the four and a half pounds 
of creosote of oil per tie. At the expiration of the 
first ten years after the process was introduced, the 
Prussian Railways began to see that the results ob- 
tained from ties treated by the combination of chlo- 
ride of zinc and creosote were giving much better 
satisfaction than ties treated with chloride of zinc 
alone, and the new process rapidly grew in favor, 
so much so that at the present time all of the pine 
and beech ties used throughout Germany are zinc 
creosoted. The average life of ties treated by the 
Rutger process on the Prussian Railways is from 
twelve to sixteen years. 

The French State Ry. at the International Rail- 
way Congress in 1900 reported a life of sixteen years 
for zinc creosoted beech ties. The records of the 
road show that ties treated by the Rutger process last 
25 per cent, longer than those treated with the chlo- 
ride of zinc only. 

The Rutger process was introduced in this country 
in 1904, by the Chicago Tie Preserving Co., at Paris, 
111., on the Big Four Ry. The use of this process^ 
(when the solution is not agitated while under pres- 
sure) necessitates the importing of a special oil made 
by Rutger, in order to obtain a mixture which will 
not separate during the time the pressure is applied 
to the ties. This has been found to be expensive 
and at times hard to obtain. 

This objection can be overcome by the use of a 
centrifugal pump the suction bein^ taken from the 
top of the treating cylinder and the discharge en- 

295 



tering the bottom, being distributed uniformly the 
entire length of the cylinder by means of a perfor- 
ated pipe. The pressure on both the suction and dis- 
charge side of the pump is the same as the pressure 
on the treating cylinder, therefore very little power 
is required to handle large quantities of the mixture. 
A perfect agitation can be obtained in this manner, 
and any good grade of oil can be injected into the 
wood together with the chloride of zinc solution, re- 
gardless of the specific gravity of either. 

As it has been demonstrated beyond any doubt 
both in Germany and France, that a small amount 
of creosote oil injected simultaneously with the 
chloride of zinc solution, v/ill increase the life of a 
zinc treated tie 25 per cent, it can be readily seen 
that the small increased cost of the zinc creosote 
process will more than pay. 

The records in the United States compare very 
favorably ^ with the German records where the chlo- 
ride of zinc process is used and it is reasonable to 
assume that by adding five pounds of creosote oil 
per tie to the chloride of zinc solution, the same in- 
creased length of life will be obtained in this country. 

The Santa Fe Railway shows eleven to twelve 
years' life for Buniettized ties, and the Chicago Tie 
Preserving Co. shows about the same on over 6,000,- 
000 hemlock ties treated for The Chicago, Rock Isl- 
and & Pacific Ry. On the Chicago, Eastern Illinois 
Ry., over 2,500,000 red and black oak ties have been 
treated by the Chicago Tie Preserving Co. in the 
past eight years about 950 ties have been removed 
for decay to Nov. ist, 1906; undoubtedly the average 
life of the treated oak ties on the road will be not less 
than twelve years. 

If the life of these ties can be increased 25 per 
cent, by the addition of a small amount of oil the 
extra cost will more than pay. 

The cost of a zinc creosoted tie is but a trifle over 
one-half the cost of a creosoted tie which contains 
from twenty to twenty-five pounds of oil, and the 
results will be the same, as the creosoted tie in the 

296 



United States will fail from mechanical wear in 
fifteen years the same as the zinc creosoted tie. 

It has never been demonstrated either in this or 
the foreign countries that the creosoted ties where 
feeble doses of oil were injected have given good 
results. 

A report by M. V. Harzenstein showing the amount 
of oil injected per tie, and the average length of life 
obtained from treated ties on about one-half of the 
English roads was presented to the International 
Ry. Congress in 1895. At that time the practice on 
the various roads was to inject from seven to ten 
pounds of oil per cubic foot, where ten pounds of 
oil per cubic foot was injected the life obtained was 
from sixteen to twenty years, where from seven to 
eight pounds per cubic foot was injected the average 
life was from twelve to fifteen years. 

The life of the treated tie in the foreign countries 
is materially^ increased by the protection given it 
from mechanical wear. 

Since 1895 the English roads have further in- 
creased the amount of oil injected per tie, at the 
present time the practice is to inject from thirty to 
thirty-five per tie. 

The French inject still larger amounts of oil than 
the English, and obtain better results. In a letter 
from the Western Ry. of France published by O. 
Chanute in Bulletin 78 American Ry. Engineers^ & 
M. of W. Association, ties on the road treated with 
from twenty-six to thirty-three pounds of oil per 
tie failed in twelve years. The present practice con- 
sists of injecting 48.4 pounds per tie as a minimum. 

Creosoted ties have been sent to this country from 
England at various times for exhibitive purposes. 
The dating nail showing that they had been in service 
twenty to twenty-five years.^ In no case to my knowl- 
edge is the information given as to the amount of 
oil originally injected. An examination of ^ any of 
these ties will show that a perfect penetration has 
been obtained throughout the tie. As the foreign 
practice on treating ties is to withdraw the air from 

297 



the wood before introducing the oil, those familiar 
with the operation of tie treating plants know that 
the injection of oil must be pushed to refusal before 
a thorough penetration is obtained. Therefore it is 
reasonably sure that these ties originally contained 
between thirty to sixty pounds of oil per tie, as there 
are very few woods suitable for treating, where 
thirty pounds per tie cannot be injected when the 
air is removed from the wood. 

One record of failure where small doses of oil 
were used took place on the C, B. & Q. Ry. In 1868 
and 1869 20,000 creosoted ties were laid on the New 
Boston Branch of this road and failed in seven 
years. They were treated by the Seeley process, and 
contained from three to four pounds of oil per cubic 
foot. The failure was due to dry rot in the interior 
of the tie, the ouside of the tie being sound. This 
treatment failed also on the Chicago, Rock Island & 
Pacific Ry. That a very good penetration was ob- 
tained by the Seeley process was demonstrated at 
the St. Louis Fair by a similar process. 

Red and black oak ties will decay in the center first 
in most all cases, for this reason it is necessary that 
the anticeptic solutions should be thoroughly dis- 
tributed throughout the tie. Where chloride of zinc 
or zinc creoste are used this can be accomplished at 
a reasonable cost, but where creosote oil is used the 
cost will be large if a thorough penetration is ob- 
tained, if a thorough penetration is not obtained in 
creosoting oak ties then either the Burnettized or 
the zinc creosoted tie will give better results. 

It has been suggested that the creosote be injected 
without first removing the air from the wood, and 
afterwards the surplus oil withdrawn from the wood 
by means of the vacuum pump. A thorough pene- 
tration can be obtained in this way only where ties 
are exceptionally well seasoned, but where they are 
well seasoned they refuse to give up but a very small 
portion of the oil injected, where the vacuum is after- 
wards applied. 

298 



Von Schrenk— 1902: 

'This is a red oak tie into which the tar oil has 
penetrated very nicely into the heart of the tie, as 
it has also in the next one. By using a special kind 
of tar oil, one of the same specific gravity as the 
zinc chloride solution, the process is without question 
very much superior to the zinc-chloride treatment, 
but it is still in its infancy. 

Here is another, red oak (fig. i8). You see the 
tar oil and zinc chloride have penetrated to the heart. 
These photographs were made from middle section 
of the tie. 

Here is a very good one showing the same thing. 
Here the tar oil has penetrated for a considerable 
distance. This treatment will probably make these 
ties last longer than zinc chloride alone, because it 
will prevent the reaching out of the salts." 

These ties are treated by the Chicago Tie Pre- 
serving Co. 

Chicago, Jan. 7, 1906. 

Mr, r. W. Calvert, C. E„ 

Chief Engineer, C, B, & Q, Ry., Chicago, 
Dear Sir: The ties mentioned in the letter en- 
closed of Robt. J. McClure were treated by th^ Seely 
process and contained from three to four pounds 
of creosote oil per cu. ft. They also failed on the 
C., R. I. & P. Ry. in about the same time as on the 
C, B. & Q. Yours truly, 

J. B. Card. 

Chicago Burlington & Quincy Ry. Co., Chief 
Engineer's Office. 

Chicago, Aug. 28, 1882. 
O. Chanute, Esq., C. E. 

Dear Sir: In answer to inquiry concerning the 
preservation of timber I have from Mr. Bislet that 
20,000 creosoted hemlock ties were laid on the New 
Boston Branch of the C, B. & Q. Ry., in 1868 and 

299 



'69. These were all taken out before they had been 
in the track seven years. A hard shell from one- 
half inch to three-fourths inch in thickness was 
formed, but the interior crumbled from dry rot. 
^ A tank of iron was put up at Aurora in 1870, and 
ties and plank were treated wnth creosote. These 
ties lasted about the same time as those on the New 
Boston Branch, but the plank which was used in car 
floors and in platforms was removed after a few 
months on account of injury to merchandise coming 
in contact with it. 

I regret that I cannot give you details of the pro- 
cess of treatment. 

The men say that the liquid was boiled, but that 
an attempt was made at producing a vacuum or par- 
tial vacuum in the tank before the admission of the 
liquid. They do^ not remember the proportion of 
creosote to each tie. Yours truly, 

(Signed) Robt. J. McClure. 

STEAMING TIMBER BEFORE IMPREGNAT- 
ING. 

I quote from letter of A. A. Robinson, President 
Mexican Central Railroad, April 19th: 

"From the very nature of the case, it seems to 
me that the idea that the ties must be seasoned is 
fallacious for the reason that the chief point in se- 
curing good treatment is to draw from the timber 
the juices, saps and acids contained in the wood, and 
it seems to me this can be more rapidly done before 
they are dried out and while they are in their liquid 
state.'\ 

I think that the observation of many experienced 
operators will coincide with me in saying that the 
steaming is an essential part of the process, not only 
as to the effect on the timber, extracting the juices 
and toughening the fiber of the wood ?ind in a gen- 
eral way preparing it to absorb the chemicals what- 
ever they mav be. While dry ties may be desirable, 
in practice dry ties or ties of uniform dryness can 

300 



rarely be secured. Three hours of steaming at 
twenty pounds pressure will not injure the fiber and 
the general condition of the whole charge will be 
measurably uniform and at the same time in fit con- 
dition to absorb the chemical when exposed to it in 
the retort 

When the steam is discharged and the vacuum 
drawn the timber is about as devoid of air as it is 
possible, the pores beino- filled with expanded vapor 
and a remnant of air, possibly, and in much better 
condition to absorb the solution than it can possibly 
be when the ties are dry and the vacuum alone is 
relied upon to extract the air from them. We do not 
suppose in either case that the air is all withdrawn 
but we can be assured that the condition of the tim- 
ber is much more favorable for impregnation when 
exposed after steaming and vacuum in the former 
case. 

When ties are dry and exposed to the vacuum a 
considerable amount of air will still remain in the 
tie and when this is compressed by the forced en- 
trance of the solution it will on removal of the 
pressure, be again forced to the surface. 

Ties thus treated are giving off more or less for 
many hours after removal from the retort all of 
which goes to waste, whether chloride, oil or what- 
soever. 

It is undeniable that steamed timber will bear 
railwear better and it is also true that some timbers 
cannot be impregnated without the use of steam. 



301 



The following article for the Wood Preservers' 
Association is deemed worthy of reproduction in this 
connection. Octave Chanute C. E., is one of the 
highest authorities on the subject treated, and while 
the author may differ with him on some minor points, 
yet the article is all the more valuable, serving as a 
basis of further investigation. 

(Published by permission.) 

THE STEAMING OF TIMBER. 

By O. Chanute. 

Having been asked to prepare a paper upon the 
Steaming of Timber I think that it is well to begin 
with a glance at the evolution of that process. 

The original method of applying antiseptics for 
the preservation of wood was by soaking it in solu- 
tions,^ chiefly those of mineral salts, and that was the 
way in which ship timber for the "Wooden Walls 
of England" was treated with fair results over a 
century ago. With the opening of the railway era 
more expeditious methods were called for and in 
1 83 1 Breant, a Frenchman, was the first to force 
antiseptics into wood by hydraulic pressure. He 
used a closed, vertical cylinder in which the wood 
was placed upright on end and pressure was applied 
with a pump.^ He indicated, moreover, that better 
penetration might be obtained by producing a par- 
tial vacuum in the cylinder before the admission of 
the antiseptics. Those which he employed were sul- 
phate of iron, linseed oil, and a mixture of linseed 
oil and resin. 

Burnett patented the injection of chloride of zinc 
in 1838. He first employed the soaking method but 
subsequently he used pressure in closed cylinders. 
Bethel in the same year patented the use of creo- 
sote and used the Breant method, but his cylinder was 
horizontal and he produced a partial vacuum therein 
before admitting the creosote. His apparatus and his 
methods were substantially the modern ones and have 

302 



continued in use to this day, but some difficulties were 
found when operating upon any but thoroughly sea- 
soned timber and in 1846 Pain introduced the process 
of previous steaming. His method for the injection of 
sulphate of iron and sulphate of barium, consisted in: 

1st. ^ Steaming fifteen minutes. 2nd. Vacuum for 
ten minutes. ^ 3rd. Introduction of antiseptic. 4th. 
Pressure of eight to ten atmospheres, the latter being 
continued forty to fifty minutes. 

This was thought to be a notable improvement, 
more especially when operating upon imperfectly or 
half seasoned timber and it rapidly grew in favor. 

In 1857 Messrs. Lege and Fleury-Pironnett pat- 
ented an apparatus for injecting railway ties with 
sulphate of copper by the steaming-vacuum-pressure 
process and tried a great many intelligent experi- 
ments upon fresh cut, half seasoned and fully sea- 
soned wood of various species, to establish the exact 
advantage of each step in the process. A commission 
to examine these results, appointed by the Agricul- 
tural Society of Sarte (a French Department), tried 
further experiments and thus summed up the as- 
certained advantages of steaming. 

"Wood, in seasoning, loses a good deal of weight 
and yet shrinks but little. The sap ducts lose the 
evaporated water and their walls become incrusted 
with the non-volatile portions of the sap, arnong 
which is vegetable albumen, constituting the princi- 
pal cause of decay. The albumen dried at ordinary 
temperature, hardens^ into a horn-like substance, but 
the application of moisture and gentle heat again dis- 
solves it and thus re-establishes the continuity of the 
sap ducts. It is important to reach th?s result with 
the least possible amount of condensed water, so as 
to leave as many voids as practicable to be permeated 
by the antiseptic solution. This is best accomplished 
by steaming at temperatures from 212° to 240® F. 
for ten minutes to three hours according to the kind 
and condition of the wood, and by following this 
up for some ten minutes with as great a vacuum as 
possible. The steam penetrates and dampens all the 



fibers of the wood; it heats and swells it consider- 
ably; it carries off, moreover, by a sort of washing, 
various volatile or soluble substances, and yet it 
condenses in the wood in such small quantities that 
the increase in weight is negligible and sometimes 
more than overbalanced by the weight of the matters 
extracted." 

This, it will be noted, was predicated upon the in- 
jection of sulphate of copper. It is believed that 
steaming before the vacuum was then universally 
adopted in Europe by all the establishments which 
injected mineral salts, but those injecting creosote 
early recognized that the small amount of condensed 
steam left in the wood resisted to some extent the 
injection of this oily substance, and the writer be- 
lieves that the present practice in Europe is not to 
steam wood intended to be creosoted. In England, 
the timber, much of which has been rafted, is very 
thoroughly air seasoned. In France and Germany 
ties are stacked in open piles for ten or twelve 
months, during which some sixteen to twenty-five 
per cent, of the weight is lost and then they are in 
many cases dessicated further in drying ovens (not 
dry kilns), during which latter process they lose 
three or four per cent, more of weight before being 
transferred warm into the creosoting cylinder. 
Another method is to boil the ties in hot creosote 
so as to evaporate the sap and make room for the 
creosote which is injected by pressure. This is per- 
haps the best method, laboratory experiments show- 
ing that there is still eighteen to twenty per cent, 
of moisture in so-called thoroughly air seasoned tim- 
ber. 

For wood to be injected with mineral salts steam- 
ing is generally resorted to in Europe. These salts 
being in watery solutions the condensed steam is not 
objectionable as it merely weakens the solution, 
which is made a trifle stronger than would other- 
wise be the case. 

In the United States Hayford took out various 
patents for steaming in 1859-1870, 1872 and 1877 

304 



which were hailed as great improvements and went 
into extensive use even for creosoting. For a time 
every wood preserver steamed before injection and 
it is only within the last two or three years that the 
question has been raised whether better penetration 
with mineral salts cannot be obtained by omitting 
steaming altogether. 

The writer having tried hundreds of experiments 
during the first ten or fifteen years of his practice 
in the injection of mineral salts, believes that whether 
it is advisable to steam or not to steam depends al- 
together upon the condition of the wood when it 
becomes necessary to inject it. The best practice is 
to season it thoroughly, but customers are generally 
impatient and urgentl}^ require the treated wood for 
immediate use. So the operator has often the al- 
ternative of either incommoding his client or of not 
doing the best work of which he is capable. He not 
infrequently unloads timber on the ground at his own 
expense in order to season it a little more. 

Wood structure generally contains 30 to 50 per 
cent, of cells by volume. In the living tree these 
cells are filled v/ith sap, and the problem is how to 
replace this sap with some preservative substance. 
In rafting a small part is v/ashed out by diffusion 
and in air seasoning perhaps over one-half of the 
watery portion of the sap slowly evaporates. It is 
obvious enough that in order to inject satisfactory 
amounts of any antiseptic a place for this must be 
found in the wood, and if the sap cells be filled with 
sap or with water, it is clearly impossible to fill them 
with another fluid. To clear the sap cells, therefore, 
we must produce some motive force inside of the 
wood. This motive power may consist of steam gen- 
erated inside of the wood, or it may consist of air 
which has replaced so much of the watery portion 
of the sap as has evaporated in seasoning, which air 
is heated and expanded by steaming. 

Proceeding upon this theory the v/riter tried very 
many experiments with various species of wood, 
fresh cut, quarter seasoned, half seasoned or wholly 

805 



reasoned, by steaming them various lengths of time, 
they being weighed in and out at each stage of the 
operations. He found that where the wood was fresh 
cut and full of watery sap it required no less than 
eight hours of steaming at twenty pounds pressure 
(258°F.) to bring the center of a tie six by eight 
inches section to the boiling point or 2i2°F., at which 
the sap would begin to generate steam so as to drive 
out some of the watery portion. It is understood 
that the creosoters who operate upon fresh cut or 
waterlogged piles are sometimes compelled to steam 
for twenty-four hours, at more than twenty pounds 
pressure, in order to clear the wood for injection. In 
that case it is probably safe to begin the operation 
with steam as high as thirty pounds pressure (275*'F) 
because the water in the wood which first evaporates 
protects the fiber from immediate injury, but towards 
the close of the operation the pressure should not ex- 
ceed twenty pounds, which has been found the point 
(258°F.) at which small injury to the strength of 
the fiber is likely to result 

With half seasoned ties, i. e., air-dried from four 
to six months, according to the time of ^the year, 
the writer ascertained the perhaps surprising fact 
that more sap could be extracted by one to three 
hours' steaming than could be gotten out of fresh 
cut ties by three to five hours of steaming at twenty 
pounds pressure. Of course there was more of the 
watery portion of the sap in the fresh cut ties than 
in those half seasoned, but it could not be extracted 
satisfactorily without much longer steaming. It was 
concluded that when the wood was half seasoned 
some air had flowed in and that this, being moder- 
ately hastened by the steaming, expanded so as to 
drive out a good deal of the remaining sap, and this 
view was confirmed by the examination of the ties 
immediately upon their withdrawal from the treat- 
ing cylinder, when minute bubbles of air and sap 
were observed issuing from the ends of the ties. 

With fully seasoned ties, say six to twelve months 
from the cutting, the effect of the steaming was some- 



times to increase the weight of the ties, and some- 
times to diminish it, such increase or loss being, 
however, very small and well within two per cent. 
It was found that when the ties were in that condi- 
tion it was best to dispense with the steaming alto- 
gether, and to begin with the vacuum ; as more solu- 
tion (chloride of zinc in this case) could be injected 
than when the ties were previously steamed, which 
latter operation, leaving some condensed steam in the 
wood (say perhaps five per cent, of its weight re- 
duced to two per cent, by the subsequent vacuum), 
diminished by just so much the quantity of solution 
which could be forced into the tie. 

These experiments were made from 1890 to 1900 
and were fully confirmed by experiments made in 
1904 by Mr. S. M. Rowe. From the results and from 
experience gained in regular working, the following 
practice has grown up at the works of the writer : 

1st. To refuse to treat fresh cut ties, but to put 
them down on the ground to season. 

2nd. To begin the spring season's treating by 
steaming, unless the ties are of the previous year's 
cutting. 

3rd. To^omit steaming in the summer and autumn 
when the ties prove to be well seasoned. 

This practice leaves open the question whether it is 
important for the best results to first sterilize the 
germs of decay by heat, either that of steam or that 
of hot air in drying ovens. Some bacteriologists hold 
that the germs of decay exist in the sap of the wood 
before it is cut down, and some believe that these 
germs penetrate into the wood after it is treated. The 
writer's experience with the results of ties previously 
steamed or treated without steaming is not sufficient 
to enable him to adduce any facts bearing on this 
question, but he believes that the European practice 
of heating wood in drying ovens just prior to ^ its 
injection is good and that this may be the^ next im- 
provement which should be introduced in this country. 
Be this as it may, he hopes that the members of this 
association will contribute their experience to the dis- 

307 



cussion of this paper, and that the result will be to 
produce still better work in wood preserving. 

CONSERVATION OF FORESTS IN AMERICA. 

Prest. J. J. Hill of the Great Northern Railway in 
speaking of the exhaustion of soil, timber, ores and 
coal, while presenting a startling possibility in a 
humanitarian sense, yet in each case there is a 
large element of truth. That improvidence pervades 
in the several cases that cannot but mean ruin to 
civilization in the course of time and not very far 
distant as measured by human history. 

Confining ourselves to the two most imminent 
sources of peril, that of exhaustion of the soil and 
the woods, we can look back not beyond the space 
of the life of our great-grandfathers and view our 
whole territory from its eastern limit to a line far 
west of the Mississippi river, now essentially de- 
nuded of its forests, and at the same time large in- 
roads are being made in the far west and in the 
timber centers of the south. 

As to the soils, Mr. Hill only repeated what every 
well informed agriculturist knows. Minnesota and 
the Dakotas were for many years noted for both 
the quantity and the excellence of the wheat crop. 
Now we hear of trouble from rust and other kindred 
evils; only what should be expected after taking off 
and putting nothing on for the last thirty or forty 
years. It means poverty of soil; soil impoverished 
by wasteful methods and human greed. 

In 1840 Illinois raised just as fine wheat for a few 
years, then the crop began to fail generally except 
where the land was fed by its own products such 
as manure from stock — and by intelligent rotation 
of crops, and was thus rendered prolific for wheat 
indefinitely. That this can be done in any and all 
the agricultural states will hardly be questioned. 

The same improvidence seems to be the rule in our 
forests. The forests of this country are the product 
of several hundred years previous to its occupation 

30 



by our people; some trees now being cut are the 
natural growth of a thousand years, over thirty 
generations, and many trees are being cut that cannot 
be re-grown in ten generations. The remaining sup- 
ply of timber is being still further imperiled by fires 
more numerous and destructive from year to year as 
the conntr}'- is being invaded and the increased de- 
mands of trade, calls for more wood. The amount 
of timber required for railroad ties alone is such 
as to tax present supply and to accentuate the ex- 
haustion of our remaining forests. It is not neces- 
sary to call for statistics as the ever increasing de- 
mand as to this one item of supply and increasing 
cost will sufficiently attest. 

The forces of nature can be depended upon to 
replace the waste to the extent of the existing area 
for growth only, but it is constant and persistent 
and in the aggregate it will go far to repair the 
loss if given a fair chance. Perhaps the most power- 
ful influence that can be employed to aid is the 
building up of the sentiment of love for the tree 
among the masses of our people. This interest is 
easily awakened and if cultivated will show results 
after a time. Arbor day if generally kept in the 
schools of the country will make its influence felt, 
especially with the young. Tree planting where con- 
ditions are right while tending the same way is 
but puny compared with the forces of nature. We 
must look to other measures to conserve nature. 

^ Once in a while we come across a timber lot or a 
bit of the original forest in some of the older states 
where it has been carefully preserved in its primeval 
state and where we consider that this is what ex- 
isted over half of the territory now covered by our 
country, we can better appreciate the destructive 
forces at work. 

Where human greed is unrestrained we see the 
main cause of unnecessary waste by the reckless de- 
struction of everything, except the tree bodies that 
are cut into lumber^ and to which much of the 
destruction by fire originates and may be attributed. 



Another cause of waste consequent on the fore- 
going manifestation of human greed is in the pro- 
miscuous bleeding for turpentine, where premature 
destruction is carried out on the young and fast 
growing second growth trees too small to produce 
much, and causing the trees to blow down thus de- 
stroying what in the next generation would produce 
valuable trees. The thought suggests that tree econ- 
omy would require that the production of turpentine 
be confined to that which can be extracted from the 
matured tree or from the waste part of trees cut 
into lumber. Just how far the Government can law- 
fully interpose to avoid this unnecessary waste is 
something we cannot here say, but it would seem 
right that such power or influence as it does possess 
should be exerted to this end. 

The Forest Service Bureau of the Department of 
Agriculture^ it is presumed is the proper party 
through which all the powers of the general Gov- 
ernment are brought to bear, and to this we must 
anchor our hope and trust that such influence as 
they possess joined with the sound sense and far 
seeing judgment of those engaged in the lumber 
producing business, will at least partially prevent this 
almost criminal waste in the future. A proper 
understanding between this Department and the lum- 
bering interest will go far to prevent destructive 
fires. The responsibility for carelessness or wanton 
setting of fire should have heavy penalty attached 
and should be enforced whenever possible. 

Tree Planting: Over sixty years ago, the writer 
then but a boy, found no greater pleasure than that 
of roaming the then primeval forest with its growth 
of noble trees : Oak, Walnut, Hickory, and almost a 
complete list of those trees of the temperate zone 
with its concomitant herbage, forming a book, the 
study of which caused almost a feeling of reverence 
for those noble trees, and impelled the planting of 
the Walnut as it dropped from the parent tree. The 
result of this boyish impulse is a tree eighteen inches 
in diameter above the stump and this in a situation 

810 



not at all favorable to the Walnut. With favorable 
soil and conditions as to moisture, double this 
growth would have resulted. 

Two trees seem to be adapted in a commercial 
sense, for profitable planting on account of rapidity 
of growth; the Black Locust and the Osage Orange 
(Bois d Arc) especially the latter on account of its 
freedom from insect attack, a source of almost com- 
plete destruction of the locust, which should com- 
mand attention of our Forest Bureau.^ Both these 
trees will grow in alniost any soil or situation, pro- 
ducing the most lasting of wood and growing very 
closely. The Osage Orange, if planted very closely 
and given close ^ attention during the first five to 
eight years in trimming away side branches, should 
produce the highest and earliest return for the 
ground and the labor expended. 

Railroad Cross Ties: The call for railroad ties 
is one of the most severe drafts on the timber supply 
and this has been confined thus far to the White 
Oak, but the time has now arrived when railroad 
managers are forced to relax and resort to the 
softer timbers simply because the white oak ties 
cannot be had. It is apprehended that they will be 
equally obdurate as to the use of steel for the same 
purpose as long as wood can be had at almost any 
price on account of the superiority of wood for 
this purpose. Even if steel or other substances are 
adopted, the wood must be interposed in the shape 
of blocks or shims to ease the rigidity of the bear- 
ing of the rail. 

Chemical Treatment of Timber: If the softer 
woods which have heretofore been rejected on ac- 
count of their shorter life when exposed to the 
elements in the railroad track can be utilized, the 
field of supply is infinitely enlarged and much that 
has heretofore been considered useless and being 
destroyed can be utilized. 

Much has been offered pro and con as to whether 
the methods of treatment in this country have been 
successful, but the writer believes that the best 

311 



authorities of today as well as future results will 
justify in saying that many of the woods heretofore 
rejected can be made to last longer and make better 
ties than even the white oak. 

Wood Pulp : This is another source of depletion 
of the forest and no doubt a legitimate and useful 
one, but confined to a few of the most valuable 
timbers. The thought occurs whether the remnants 
of other woods may not be utilized instead of the 
more valuable tree bodies as suggested in the ob- 
taining of turpentine from the pine. These remnants 
may not be so cheaply reduced but considering that 
the material will otherwise be wasted, does it not 
come within the line of policy of the government to 
forbid further waste? 

In view of the fact that all wood fiber is of much 
the same consistence does not this view seem reason- 
able? 

Tree planting, while as before stated, carried on 
by human effort now in its infancy, is puny compared 
with the results of nature, may grow in time to be 
of much importance. A combined effort by all par- 
ties whether individuals or railroad, or other cor- 
porations will result eventually in an increase worthy 
of the effort. 

One great advantage will be in the awakening of 
effort that will increase both interest and knowledge 
on the part of the people with an increased dis- 
position to not only add to the volume of the 
product, but to avoid waste and to create a feeling 
of sacredness toward the noble plants that banish 
the desert wherever they are grown. 

Aside from the conservation of existing forests 
their reforestation seems to be the most important of 
all, and efforts in this direction are being stimulated 
by the aid of the Forest Service under the able 
direction of that department of the government. 
There is hardly a doubt but that the vast area of the 
white pine in Michigan could with proper care have 
been far along toward this reproduction and that it 
is not due to the impoverishment of the soil, but is 

312 



due to the improvident burning over, and not to any- 
great extent to stock pasturage. In the south where 
the pines have grown the second growth it is grow- 
ing vigorously, but the Old Field and the Yellow 
pine growing vigorously as to defy stock very 
quickly. Reproduction of forest in this way can of 
course be aided by extended planting in connection 
with those growing naturally, the latter furnishing 
the young plants for resetting in open spaces. 

Tree planting on desert or some desert lands 
seems to be of uncertain utility, we see on the great 
plains over a stretch of many hundred miles almost 
treeless with the one exception of the cottonwood, 
and that only along the streams, even then of but 
little value except to relieve the eye. 

Only long patient study will determine how far it 
is practicable to encroach on the great plans, and 
what useful timbers can be grown. The absence of 
any other timber is strong evidence that it will be 
difficult to grow other timbers with any degree of 
success. 

But let reforestation be attempted, the original 
primitive forests of this country can never be re- 
produced. Human effort directed by the knowledge 
now being so acquired and prepared by the United 
States government through the Forest Service can 
be used to direct the impulses of all possible effort 
in the most practical methods. Desultory and lim- 
ited efforts can be utilized with the aesthetic sense, 
impelled by that innate love of beauty among the 
people, will only beautify the country. 

The commercial spirit can hardly impel extensive 
tree planting exclusively, because the reward or 
commercial return is so long coming. We will take 
a case of the production of one tree, say that of the 
western yellow pine where it requires 200 years to 
produce a^ tree thirty inches in diameter at the 
stump having a volume of wood equal to 2,000 feet 
board measure producing 1,200 feet B. M. of sawed 
lumber. This same tree is one-tenth grown at 70 
years, one-third grown at 100 years and three- 

313 



quarters grown at i6o years; so we see that the 
reward is so remote that it is of little interest to 
people now living. Large corporations managing 
ten thousand miles of railroad perhaps might enter 
upon this humanitarian scheme with a remote hope 
of succeeding in beautifying their property remotely. 
It is true that some timbers mature or at least be- 
come of such size as to be used at a much earlier 
period, the Catalpa for instance, but this can only 
be done in the south or on a soil much too valuable 
to be given over in the face of rapid filling up of 
the country by the natural increase in population. 

In view of this, it would seem proper to first save 
our forest by ceasing wasteful methods in cutting; 
second, by increasing available stock by drawing 
from contiguous countries, inviting rather than re- 
pelling trade by too high tariff on importations; 
or lastly, and not the least, by any means, saving our 
remaining forests by elaborating the first mentioned 
means, that of broadening the field for supplying 
railroad ties and timber by treatment chemically as 
is now coming somewhat into favor. For ties alone 
the railroads in the United States call for annually 
somewhat over sixty million cross ties, 2,160 million 
feet B. M., leaving out of consideration bridge tim- 
ber and piles. 

By use of preservatives the field is broadened, first 
by bringing into use many of the less valuable tim- 
bers, and secondly by at least doubling the life in 
service. Until very recently only a few of the 
most valuable trees were accepted, such as the white 
oak, cedar, etc., now there is scarcely a wood fibre 
but may be made as lasting as the best. 

I ^Yl^^ not^say that efforts in tree planting will be 
in vain. It is a work our government may well take 
up and should do so, and the progress toward doing 
it understandingly is such already as to give hope 
of great good to posterity at least. Its influence will 
tend to foster the love of the tree among the people, 
will do more to curb wastefulness among lumber- 
men and is about the only influence that will do this 

314 



effectually. The many millions of forest reserva- 
tions and their management as well as the extension 
of the same systematic management to the private 
preservers with the constant improvement of this 
service is a hopeful topic on which every one should 
second heartily. 

Reforestation is a matter in which government aid 
and influence should be exerted as the most practical 
means to the desired end. Soil and climate have 
much to do with the success. When the pines have 
grown they will grow again as in the northmost 
bounds of the temperate zone for the white pine, 
on the mountain breast below the snow line for the 
Fox spruce, etc., and on the alluvial plains of the 
south for the southern yellow pine and the kindred 
trees and on the alluvial valley almost everywhere 
for the walnut, maple, hickory, beach, etc. The 
lesson taught is where they each grow best there 
plant them. As nature furnishes the plant this ran 
be done most easily with the best assurance of 
success. 

Statistics have been avoided irom paucity of data 
at hand. The work of the Forest Service will in 
time give this in a shape not possible by the efforts 
of the writer.^ A mass of detail matter has been 
gathered but it will require much time and labor 
to make it available. 

"Great oaks^ from little acorns grow ; Great rivers 
from little rivulets flow." This couplet whether 
rightly quoted,^ covers in a humanitarian sense, mat- 
ters of vital interest to the human race. Destroy 
the tree, and the rivulet dries up and the river be- 
comes a dry desert. The tree is the noblest and 
most useful of all plants. It is doubtful whether a 
man ever willingly put his axe into one without 
a sense of violation of^ his ideal of life or enjoy- 
ment unless impelled with a sense of gain. 

When the instinct of gain is present, the forest 
is ruthlessly invaded with no other thought. Only 
the interposition of government control will save the 
country from becoming a desert from total destruc- 

315 



tion of the forest and the drymg up of the waters. 
A natural veneration for this noble plant, the tree, 
such as will not only deny its destruction but will 
impel the planting of the tree will aid in ameliorating 
the conditions. Nature has stored up in advance a 
bountiful store of forests which inside of 300 years 
is threatened to become largely depleted in the near 
future, and it will be indeed fortunate if the un- 
necessary waste can be arrested before its scarcity 
reaches acute conditions. 

AN ARRAIGNMENT 

WESTERN RAILWAY CLUB, MEETING AT AUDITORIUM, 
CHICAGO, DEC. l6, I902 

From an address by Dr. Herman von Schrenk, in 
charge of the Missouri Valley Laboratory of the 
Bureau of Plant Industry of the U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, we quote: 

a. ". . . . and leave out the costl}?" and ruinous 
steaming process which is generally used in this 
countr}^'' (P. 155 rep.) 

b. "I do not go into a discussion as to the value 
of the glue-tannin treatment to any great extent but 
I might say I am distinctly opposed to that sort of 
treatment from the bottom up because it is based 
theoretically as well as actually, on a great many 
false factors.'' (P. 177 rep.) 

c. "I believe that a great many railroads will 
follow the lead of the Atchison road in dropping 
the zinc chloride glue treatment and reverting 
to the straight zinc chloride process. (P. 177 rep.) 

d. "Mr. Tratman (referring to claim that the glue 
does not penetrate the wood) "Does that same ob- 
jection apply to the subsequent creosote process?*' 

We want to say right here that any one at all famil- 
iar with the process knows that the zinc chloride does 
penetrate the wood fibre quite completely, more so 
than any other known solution and that this is not so 
with the oil which, except in the very soft and open 
woods, will not penetrate the wood except under very 

316 



high pressure and then only penetrating the wood 
fibre in strips and bands where the high pressure has 
parted the wood by the radical cleavage and not large- 
ly by way of the natural wood ducts. 

Mr. von Schrenk : "No sir, that not only penetrates 
into the holes but completely penetrates the fibre, 
whereas in the other process it does not penetrate the 
wood fibre itself, so that I consider the subsequent 
tannin-glue process a distinct v/aste of money/' 

The author has heard this address mentioned but 
had no opportunity to read it until very recently, 
and now considers it a duty to notice it and by the 
light of subsequent developments to weigh its value. 

The implication, taking the address as a whole, 
is that nothing has been done in this country to the 
advance of the business of timber preservation, of 
any value. 

The position we always assumed in the matter of 
"Preservation of Timber'^ is that after the practical 
benefits of any process have been demonstrated, to 
hold to it until a better has been proven. Subse- 
quent events indicate that Mr. von Schrenk has fol- 
lowed every new process, —the Barchall, the Aler- 
d^^ce, the Rueping, and the Rueping reversed, etc., 
the value of none of which have yet been proven. 
When their value has been proven we will be only 
too glad to acknowledge this value. 

Answering Mr. von Schrenk's address, we use the 
quotation as shown at the head of this article in 
turn, 

a. "In regard to steaming timber to prepare- for 
impregnation, we refer to previous articles published 
herewith. Mr. von Schrenk claimed a year ago 
*that steaming reduced the strength of timber twen- 
ty-iive per cent.* Subsequent careful observations by 
one of the most careful chemists, Professor Hatt, 
fail to prove this. 

b. "The zinc-tannin which is condemned in toto, 
is one that has been the means of saving millions 
of dollars, not only to the A. T. & S. F. Railroad,. 

*At twenty pounds steam pressure. 
317 



but to many other railroads. So treated, ties that 
without treatment would only last from two to six 
years were made to last a mean of six to twelve 
years. Loblolly ties in Texas that will rot beyond 
use in two years, were made to last so that re- 
newals of any consequence began in the sixth year, 
and only then largely in consequence of the broken 
surface of the protecting glue and tannin so con- 
temptuously mentioned, due to corrugated tie plates 
by which about two per cent, became rotten under 
the tie plate only, while sawed ties were mainly still 
sound at six years. 

c. As to "abandonment of the zinc-tannin pro- 
cess,'* — we will only say that subsequent history has, 
in five years after the utterance of this prediction, 
shown that it has not proven true. 

d. We suppose that the process here referred to 
is the "Alardyce," so called, by which the absorption 
of oil was not as much as would be taken up by 
simply dipping a dry tie into a vat and removing 
it in a minute. He has subsequently stated this 
process to be successful in Mexico, but if so he has 
not so far shown any authentic record of it. 

We deem it high time that this assault on every- 
thing American in relation to Timber Preservation 
shall be met vigorously as largely in consequence of 
this influence on the matter, the effect has been to 
throw the whole matter into doubt. It has also 
opened a wide field to self-interested promoters, who, 
with oily tongues and specious theories, stand ready 
to take advantage of the circumstances. 



318 



NATURAL OILS AS A PRESERVATIVE 

Some recent experiments seem to indicate that 
some of the natural oils, a heavy petroleum carrying 
a large portion of asphaltum can be used to impreg- 
nate ties. According to Mr. Faulkner, of the Santa 
Fe Railroad Company, that company are proposing 
to substitute this oil in its crude state, for creosote 
oil. It has been tested for several^ years with indi- 
cations of good results. Should it prove effective 
it will be most important in the face of early and 
rapid advance in prices undoubtedly impending. 

We have made examination of a Mexican oil of 
much the same character as the California oil and 
found its penetration as quite equal to that of the 
coal tar product. If it holds out as it seems now to 
promise, the new agent will prove a boon indeed. 

The analysis of the San Louis Potosi Oil is as 
follows : 

Color Dark brown 

Odor .Tarry 

Consistency A thick fluid semi-liquid 

Appearance A liquid asphaltic mixture 

Reaction Slightly alkaline 

15' 
Specific gravity, at C 0.983 

15' 

Degrees Baume at C I2.4®B. 

15" 

Viscosity, Redwood's at 21** C 48,900* 

Flashes at 4i®C. or I05.8''R 

Burns at 120^*0. or 248'*R 

Sulphur 3.26 per cent 

Calorific Power, by Calorimeter 14,648. i B. T. U. 

Weight of I gallon of the crude oil 8.1953 lbs. 

I Kilo of oil 1.017 Liters 

Distillation of the Crude Oil : — 

Begins to condense at 65® C. or I49®F. 

First drop over at 74''C. or i67**F. 

319 



IS'* 15^ 
Distillates Sp. Gr. at C. Baume at C 

Notes. ^ 
By Engler^s method of fractioning the crude oil 
gave as follows: 

Naphtha Essences 3.20 per cent. 

Illuminating oils 16.50 " 

Lubricating oils & paraffins 66.58 " 

Coke heated to dryness 13.72 " 

100. per cent. 

Coke as taken from the retort was a black glisten- 
ing mass. 

Analysis of the Coke was found to be as follows: 
(after burning off all Volatile & Combustible matter) 

Fixed Carbon 89.81 per cent 

Ash 10.19 " 

100. per cent. 

Resume: ... As a burning oil for fuel this 
oil could hardly be used to advantage in engines on 
account of the high viscosity, which would nee 
extra heating to liquefy the oil to force it to En- 
gine from the tank in which it is kept; on account 
of the high sulphur value which would need frequent 
repairs to the fire box and adjoining parts; and the 
calorific value is hardly high enough to recommend 
in the place of coal which is on the market and which 
gives its equal or better in B. T. U. 

The loss by evaporation in 24 hours at 120® R is 
6.22 per cent. The loss will entirely depend on the 
volume of the oil as well as to the depth of the mass 
as stowed. Yours very truly, 

(Signed) Jas. M. B. Hard. 

ToPEKA^ Kan., Feb. 26th, 1907. 

Mr, Sam'l M. Rowe, Room 364 Monadnock Block, 
Chicago, III. 

Dear Sir : I have your letter of Feb. 25th, in refer- 

320 



ence to the experiments in treatment of ties by crude 
oil, and beg to say the analysis shows as follows: 

Flashes, open test 242® F. 

Burns 300*" F. 

Degrees Baume iS-OO 

Specific Gravity 966=60.28 lbs. per cu. ft. 

Percentage of Sulphur 2.41 

Gasoline Trace 

Illuminating kerosene 22 per cent. 

Residuum, (chiefly Asphaltum) 78.00 per cent. 

B. T. U 17,000 

In case the same should be of any interest to you, 
I herewith attach copy of letter which I sent a gen- 
tleman the other day, who had been making inquir- 
ies in reference to this matter. 

Yours very truly, 

^ E. O. Faulkner, 
Mgr. Tie and Timber Dept. 

Enc. 

We, (The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway) 
have been using crude oil in our engines in Cali- 
fornia since 1891, and a few years thereafter began 
sprinkling the roadbed with oil to keep down dust ; 
so that a coating of oil was spread over the tops of 
the ties, which seemed to add to their life (they 
were untreated) by keeping the moisture off the 
tops, at all events this was the belief of the track 
men. 

In the vicinity of Bakersfield in Kern county, Cali- 
fornia, we get an oil, costing about 25 cents per 
barrel of 42 gallons, of low gravity, which has an 
asphaltum residuum of about 77^A per cent., the bal- 
ance being mainly light oils, so that when Dr. Von 
Schrenk, of the Government Service, asked our peo- 
ple for a length of track in southeastern Texas to 
conduct a number of experimental tests on the differ- 
ent wood preservative processes then in common use, 
we took the opportunity of putting in a few ties of 
each kind of wood treated with nothing but this 
same crude oil, alongside the others, in order to ob- 

321 



tain a practical comparison of the results. These 
were treated in the Fall of igoi and put in the track 
in March, 1902. Where they are laid an untreated 
loblolly pine tie lasts about two years, and a long- 
leaf pine less than four years on account of heat and 
moisture, so that we use this piece of track for our 
wood preservative experiments with the surety that 
if a tie will last from decay down there a certain 
length of time, it is good for at least three times the 
life in other places on the System, judging by the life 
there of similar wood untreated. 

The timber experts claim that, in order to produce 
decay, moisture and heat must be present at the same 
time, with access to the air. We therefore took 
thoroughly well air-seasoned ties, in which, of course, 
the cells would be more or less open, and filled them 
with this crude oil heated to 180 degrees F., forced 
in under a pressure of 130 lbs. to the square inch; 
at this temperature I am inclined to believe that a 
good proportion of the light oils had evaporated, 
leaving only the asphaltum residuum, which was 
then as fluid as creosote. The ties took up from 
four gallons up to eight gallons per tie, only one 
taking the latter amount, and the oil appears to have 
hardened in the cells under atmospheric temperature, 
so that up to the present (five years' service) they 
are in first class shape so far as preservation and 
wear are concerned. In November last we took one 
out of the track and sawed it in two in the middle 
and under each rail base; the wood was as sound 
and firm as when laid in the track, with less rail cut- 
ting than with the other treatments, the spike holding 
firmly, and when drawn was as bright and clean as a 
newly made one. We have since taken out another 
pine tie of a different variety, but sawed, and found 
on sawing it the same as before, that the wood was 
just as sound and firm. In one place the sawing 
developed a decayed place in the tie, which had taken 
up more oil on account of its decay. This had not 
spread or caused any trouble, presumably on account 
of the ring of oiled wood surrounding it. 

322 



In this experimental track we have a number of 
different kinds of wood treated with different pro- 
cesses. They all show up well excepting one,^ (the 
Hassellman) which has practically gone to pieces; 
and as a contrast, in each case we also have a num- 
ber of the untreated woods inserted for comparison. 
We do not claim there are any antiseptic properties in 
the crude oil, but we do believe that by stopping up 
the open wood cells with a substance which solidifies 
under ordinary temperature, we prevent heat, moist- 
ure and air from getting into the wood and thereby 
affording an opportunity for the decay-producing 
organisms to begin work. This seems to be proven 
in our case, and as a result of the test, borne out by 
general experience on the divisions where oiling 
has been done ; in the new treating plant we are pre- 
paring to erect in New Mexico, the pine ties will 
be treated with this same grade of crude oil forced 
in under from 150 to 200 lbs. pressure at a temper- 
ature of 180 degrees F. We will probably introduce 
the oil under vacuum, and at the end apply a low 
vacuum before drawing the ties out of the cylinder, 
in order that the drip may have a show. By this way 
the ties are reasonably clean and easily handled after 
treatment. I am also arranging to put in a lot more 
in the Texas Experimental track, and sending some 
to the Tampico Branch of the Mexican Central. 

I give herewith a list of the untreated woods which 
were laid in the track alongside of these oil treated 
ties in the early spring of 1902, the oil ties being all 
in first class condition at last inspection (four years 
and ten months after they were laid), while the un- 
treated ones laid at the same time and all inspected 
together show up as follows: 

196 White Oak Ties. — ^41 show decay, 3 others 
have fungus on, balance in good condition. 

24 Black Oak Ties. — ^22 removed 4 years after lay- 
ing, rotten; 2 still in track, but both show decay. 

20 Willow Oak Ties.— 15 removed 3 years after 
treatment, rotten; of the 5 still in track, i shows 
decay, 4 are in good condition. 



20 Spanish Oak Ties. — 4 removed 3 years after 
laying, rotten; of the 16 in track, 7 show decay 
with heavy fungus growth on, the rest in fair con- 
dition. 

20 Yellow Butt Oak Ties. — 18 removed 4J^ years 
after laying, rotten; 2 in track in good condition. 

91 Red Oak Ties.=:82 removed 3 years after lay- 
ing, rotten; of the 9 still in track, 7 show decay, 2 
in good condition. 

49 Tamarack Ties. — All removed 2 years and 9 
months after laying, rotten. 

100 Loblolly Pine Ties. — ^All removed 2 years after 
laying, rotten. 

93 Longleaf Pine Ties. — 85 removed 2^ years after 
laying, rotten; 8 still in track, of which 7 show de- 
cay, and I in good condition. 

100 Shortleaf Pine Ties. — 95 taken up 45^ years 
after laying, rotten ; the i in track shows decay. 

loi Hemlock Ties.— All removed 2j^ years after 
laying, rotten. 

100 Beech Ties. — ^All removed rotten. 

(Signed) E. O. Faulkner, 
Manager Tie & Timber Dep't. 



324 



TREATMENT OF PAVING BLOCKS 

As is well known, creosote as a preservative of 
paving blocks not only increases the life of the 
wood but also increases its wear under traffic. The 
addition of a heavier oil or a large percentage of 
asphaltum added, gives still better results. The 
asphaltum combines with the oil readily and be- 
comes sufficiently fluid to secure quite complete 
penetration filling the grain of the wood at the same 
time increasing its solidity and resistance to the 
penetration of storm water after laying. 

Blocks so treated, laid on a good concrete base 
makes an ideal pavement, with less noise and jar 
on the passing of vehicles. 

When we compare the various kinds of pavement 
with its quality for wear, utility and economy, the 
tendency seems more and more toward the wood. 

The primitive cobble stone and granite block we 
have is undoubtedly the most lasting and most con- 
venient, especially if it is often disturbed for reach- 
ing subutilities such as water, gas, etc., as well as 
affording footing for heavy dray service. 

Next in order of utility is a good vitrified brick 
equally favorable for foothold for draughty animals, 
less lasting but less noisy, the granite in this respect 
being the most distracting of all, that of the noise 
caused by the elevated loop being in no way com- 
parable. 

Next we have the asphalt laid on concrete footing 
and no more lasting than the brick, but of such 
character as to be absolutely unusable at some period 
of the season. 

It seems that a good wood block laid on concrete 
base should be the ideal pavement, especially if im- 
pregnated with Creosote or other good preservative 
filler. 

It would seem from our present knowledge that 
such a block can be cheaply made, would eliminate 
the noise, give good footing and be equally sanitary 
with any other. 

325 



THE USE OF S IRONS 

We think it worth mentioning that the use of 
S irons made of thin strips of metal prevents in- 
cipient checking or splitting of any timber that is 
liable to split badly during the drying process. 
They consist of a rolled strip half inch or so wide 
to be cut into lengths to grasp sufficient of the 
wood on each side of the check. Some timbers will 
split to an extent that renders a tie useless, notably 
the hickory elm and some other timbers. These 
should be applied when the check appears early. 

A TYPICAL TREE 

It is often convenient to have some knowledge of 
the operation of nature in the production of the 
tree, especially as to rate of growth in height and 
volume of wood produced from year to year. Of 
course each variety will vary so that it is desirable 
and the only practical way to choose one somewhere 
near the mean of useful timbers. We therefore 
select one such for which we find a record of 
growth each ten years, that of the Northern Yellow 
Pine and secure a general analysis about as follows : 

This table can be used to approximate closely to 
the actual volume of a 25-foot telegraph pole, a 35- 
foot pole, a 50-foot pile or the body of the tree. 

At "d'' we have diameter 4.3 inches, at "f" we 
have 9 inches and length of 25 feet. Now we add 
the volumes in Col. "F" (excluding 'M'O, e = 6.48 
cu. ft. and "f" = 9.22. We have volume 15.7 cu. ft. 

Similarly "d" to "g" = we have a 38 ft. pole, 11.4'' 
at the butt and containing 28.2 cubic feet. 

Similarly a pile 50 feet long, top "e" 6j4" dia. and 
"i'', 16" dia. at the large end ('*i") we get 42.8 cu. ft. 
This typical tree contains about 200 cubic or 2400 
ft. B. M., but will not afford more than 60% of 
this in merchantable lumber or 1450 ft. B. M. 



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327 



WHAT WE HAVE DONE 

1885. A. T. & S. F. Ry., Las Vegas, N. M., Operated several 

years. 
1887. Union Pacific R. R., Laramie, Wyo., Plans. 

1897. T. T. & L. P. Co., Somerville, Texas, Plans, Super- 

vision and Operation. 

1898. Santa FePac, Bellament, Ariz., Plans, Supervision 

and Operation. 

1898. C. & E. L R. R., Mt. Vernon, 111., Plans revised for 

O. Chanute. 

1899. Great Northern Ry. , Kalispell, Mont., Plans, Sup- 

ervision and Installation. 

1899. B. & M. R. Ry., Edgemont, S. Dak., Plans, Supervi- 

sion and Installation. 

1900. H. C. Sugar Co., Hawaii, Plans with full directions. 

1900. Mex. Cent. R. R., Mexico, Consulting Eng'r. 

1901. M. K. & T. Ry., Greenville, Texas, Plans, Supervision 

and Installation. 
1901. Alamogorda L. C, Alamogorda, N. M., Plans, Sup- 
ervision and Installation. 

1901. Rocky Mt. Time. Co., Colo., Plans, Supervision and 

Installation. 

1902. Ayer & Lord Tie Co., Carbondale, 111., Consulting 

Eng'r. 
1902. Ayer & Lord Tie Co., Grenada, Miss., Consulting 

Eng'r. 
1902. Union Pacific, Portable Plant, Shop Inspection. 
1902. O. R. & N. Co., Shop Inspection. 

1902. A. T. & S. F., Plans and Specifications. 

1903. D. & R. G., Alamosa, Colo., Plans, Specifications and 

Installation. 
1908. C. & N. W., Escanaba, Mich., Plans, Specifications 
and Installation. 

1904. Chihuahua & Pac, Chihuahua, Max., Plans, Speci- 

fications and Installation. 

1905. Grasselli Chemical Co., Cleveland, Ohio, Labora. 

tory Plant. 
1905. I. C, Southport, La., Creosote, Storage, Plans, Speci- 
fication and Installation 

1905. U. S. Laboratory Plant, Washington, D. C, Plans, 

1906. M. K. & T., Greenville, Texas, (Remodeling) Plans 

and Specifications. 
1906. Gray Tie Co., Evansville, Ind., Plans, Specifications 
and Installation. 

1906. C. B. & Q., Galesburg, III, Consulting Eng'r. 

1907. K. C. T. & T. P. Co., Kansas City, Mo., Plans, Speci- 

fications and Installation. 



328 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF TIMBER. 

In the study of American timbers, especially with 
reference to treatment, the author has deemed the 
matter of sufficient importance to give attention to 
the different phases from time to time as opportunity 
offered. In the Absorption Tables heretofore pub- 
lished, this study was devoted to the absorptive power 
of various timbers as specimens could be obtained, as 
in the operation of impregnation this property was of 
first importance. 

By an inspection of the Absorption Tables **A'' to 
"I" and a comparison with amount of absorption 
secured in the usual impregnations with a solution 
like chloride of zinc, with a one or two hours exposure 
under 100 pounds hydraulic pressure, it is found that 
as much absorption was secured as would be taken 
in thirty days by simply immersing in water. 

By this means the operator is able to judge the 
comparative character of any one of the woods. At 
the time these tables were compiled, the other 
properties and characteristics were also noted, such 
as weight per cubic foot, etc. 

At this writing, the accumulation of specimens of 
timber became so numerous that a further effort to 
enlarge this field of knowledge has been made, cover- 
ing the strength under compression as a column and 
in other conditions. These results are given in the 
subsequent tables "J" to **0" with the former records 
but covering almost all the wood specimens in reach. 

In connection with these tests some further facts 
are elicited, as to the manner in which timber fails 
WHEN LOADED TO DESTRUCTION, and also 
the relative crushing load, both for end pressure, 
flatwise, and edgewise per square inch. 

Plates Nos. I to VI, pages 331-336 are engravings of 
representative pieces selected from over one thousand 
test pieces that were tested in the 20,000 lbs. Riele 
Press in the Chicago City Laboratory, during June and 
July of this year, (1908). 

329 



THE MANNER IN WHICH TIMBER FAILS 
UNDER COMPRESSION. 

The pieces were uniformly one inch square and 
four inches long, cut with four inch axis as nearly as 
possible parallel to the axis of the tree. 

The types of failure are indicated in the tables by 
initials. Thus, P. for Prime, etc. 

For the purpose of showing more fully the physical 
properties of the various woods tested, this series of 
illustrations are submitted. 

The following abbreviations are used in the tables 
of tests J, K, L, M, N and O, to indicate the charac- 
ter of failure in each case. 

Plates No. I and II. (P.) — Prime, v/ith a tendency 
to shear off on a plane of shear at a regular angle to 
the axis of the piece. 

Plate No. III. (P. S.)— Prime Shattered, that of 
straight grained wood but easily cloven during test. 

Plate No. IV. (P. T.)— Prime Tough, timber of 
tough pliant fibre. 

Plate No. V. (P. C.) — Prime Crumpled, the same 
as "P" except having been badly checked by high 
pressure, or other cause for parting the fibre of the 
timber. 

Plate No. VI. (B) — Broomed or Crushed. Number 
V- has been crushed down to show more clearly the 
effect on the fibers of the wood. 

This classification is intended to guide in the 
study of the nature of timber fibre and should be re- 
viewed carefully and given further careful study, as 
the writer has so far been unable to do for want of 
time and various other reasons. 

It is desired that other investigators express them- 
selves as regards the causes of the various phases of 
the Phenomena. 



330 



ADVANCE SHEET 



OF 



SUPPLEMENT 



TO 



44 



Preservation of Timber'' 



FOR 



1909 EDITION 



Copyright 1908 

BY 

Samuel M. Rowe 



1 




_36_ 61^ 

9 3 

UNTREATED SO. TREATED 

YELLOW PINE PRIME (P.) HARD MAPLE 

Plate I 331 



J 




37^ 
5 



Plate II 



PRIME (P.) 
332 



8I_ 

2 



I I 



Plate 



104l 104l 

8 9 

MEXICAN PINE, UNTREATED 
PRIME SHATTERED (P. S.) 

Ill 333 




_84 
3 

HARD MAPLE 

UNTREATED. 

PRIME TOUGH, (P. T.) 

Plate IV 334 



18a 

1 

HICKORY 
UNTREATED, 
PRIME SHATTERED, (P. S.) 




38 69 

1 ~2" 

HARD MAPLE IMP. 500 HARD MAPLE IMP. 500 

PRIME CRUMPLED (C) 

Plate V 335 




_33^ ^ 

1 2 

SOUTHERN YELLOW PINE PAVING BLOCK 
BROOMED (B) 

Plate VI 336 



TABLES OF ABSORBENT PROPERTIES 

OF TIMBER. 

On page 147 "Preservation of Timber" and pages 
following; Tables A, B, C, D and E, page 181, are 
given as a record of observation on the character, 
weight, etc. of timbers obtainable up to January, 1904. 
Herewith are submitted a series of tables, being a 
record of timbers more recently examined, giving such 
further facts as have been gathered, with a view of 
continuing the record for use in the future. 

The compressive strength with a view of compari- 
son between the various timbers is added, as well as 
some experiments bearing on the amount of solution 
or oil taken up during treatment, effect of over-press- 
ure, the effect of time and exposure at various times 
during the life of timber in service, etc. 

Table **F" is results of Zinc-Creosote Process on 
various oaks and other timbers which fully explains 
itself. The absorption was taken after treating and 
thoroughly drying the blocks before immersing them 
in water. 

Table *'G" is experiments on Run No. 3 where Tar 
Residium was used instead of Creosote. Weight of 
timber was taken before treating and again after 
treating and well drying. 

Lower part of table is Hard Maple and Red Oak, 
treated or untreated as indicated. 

Table "H" gives a special test on White Oak Ties, 
15 years in service. Nos. 1 to 8 being White Oak 
laid in sandy soil and surface rotted, and Nos. 9 to 16 
being ties 15 years in service laid in moist ground. A 
little figuring will indicate that the loss to the timber 
was about in proportion to the amount of wood en- 
tirely rotted away, leaving the sound timber almost 
as good as new. 

Table "I" is absorbent properties of various speci- 
mens tested as explained on the right hand of the 
table. 

337 



Table "J" commences the series of Ultimate Crush- 
ing Loads. The numbers in the left hand column 
refer to the corresponding numbers in Tables '*A" to 
"E" inclusive. Same is true of Tables "J" to "O." 

Tables "K" Nos. 1, 7, 9 and 10 are the White Oak 
Ties 15 years in service on the South Chicago City 
R. R. as shown in Table '*H" 5,200 lbs. the ultimate 
crushing load per square inch as against 6,900 pounds 
per square inch for new White Oak. 

Table "L" No. XIX, Table '*!" is untreated pine 15 
years in track and 12 years in concrete where it shows 
almost the original strength, 4,200 pounds per square 
inch and also the strength of the Michigan White Pine 
treated in 1885, part of the Isleta bridge, carrying 
near 4,600 pounds per square inch. See also Nos. 102 
to 108, various Mexican Pines. 

Table *'M" explains itself. 

Table "N" and *'0", effect of over-pressure on the 
timber fibre. When the treatment of ties by the Well- 
house process in 1885 was commenced, the rule was 
laid down that no more than one hundred pounds of 
pressure per square inch should be allowed on the 
charge while in contact with the solution. This was 
accepted on the authority of Mr. Wellhouse, Mr. Jos. 
P. Card and Mr. Chanute and has been the practice 
with most, using either the Zinc-Tannin or the Bur- 
nett process with slight allowable deviation since that 
time. This was derived from past experience and 
was accepted as being correct and the general opinion 
among people doing this kind of work that a pressure 
much above this would part the timber fibre. 

The writer in making some experiments on the 
possibility of impregnating wooden paving blocks 
with melted asphalt in combination with creosote oil, 
found it impossible to make it reach all parts of a 
four inch block unless a much higher pressure and a 
high degree of heat was used. In some cases where 
300 pounds was applied, the grip of the hand would 
cause the oil to protrude at the end of the surface of 
the block long after removal from the retort. 



Recently, however, this idea that the higher press- 
ure does so injure the timber has been emphatically 
denied and the practice among "Creosoters" is to use 
twice that pressure or more. With a view to aid in 
correct determination of the question, the writer has 
gone to some trouble to gather information on the 
subject. Table "O" given herewith, gives the various 
timbers and Plate No. VI, page 348, etc. gives the 
manner in which the timber fails in each case. A 
study of the result, it is hoped, will speak for itself. 

Pressure used in the case of No. 33 is understood to 
be 180 pounds, those of the others are given in Table 
"N". Part of the information in list "O" was lost, 
may be recovered later. 

Table "P" is a record of experiments with Hard 
Maple blocks with reference to impregnating them 
with Creosote in Run No. 1, and a mixture of Creosote 
and Asphalt in Run No. 2, giving computations of 
results. 

Table "Q", Run No. 3 and 4, a record of treatment 
with Creosote, the blocks being unseasoned. 

Table **R", record of treatment of various timbers 
by the Zinc-Creosote process. 

Table "S", Philippine Island woods. 

Table "T", is a computation of results in impreg- 
nating Mexican timbers, both in Metric and American 
terms. Note the effect of varying time steamed and 
hydraulic pressure used. 

The experiments here recorded required years to 
compile and hold much that require much more 
study and elaboration to exhaust the mass of informa- 
tion herein comprised. 



339 



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354 




RECORD OF RESULTS OF CHEMICAL 
TREATMENT OF TIES * 

By Samuel M. Rowe. 

April 15th, 1908. One of the most carefully made 
and most complete records that it has been possible 
to secure of an almost continuous record of a large 
quantity of treated railroad ties is given below. The 
example is based upon the ties treated by the zinc 
tannin process in 1885 at the Las Vegas treating 
plant of Santa Fe Railway Co., and laid the same 
year mostly on the New Mexico divisions. The com- 
putation is more particularly confined to this one 
year because this lot should now be necessarily quite 
exhausted at 22 years. 

The number of ties treated in 1885, was 111,503, 
about one-third pound of pure zinc chloride, being 
used, i-io lb. of glue mixed with the zinc chloride 
and ij4 per cent strong, applied first and about 
the same amount of tannin extract made into a 
V2 per cent strong water solution applied after 
the chloride and glue solution was withdrawn, in ac- 
cordance with the well defined zinc tannin process 
then known as the Wellhouse treatment. 

The record of removals was neglected until about 
1897 at which time the record of these removals was 
commenced and from that time carefully kept up to 
and including 1907. xA.t the close of 1907 the record 
shows that out of the 111,500 ties about 77,ooo, in- 
cluding 1,300 removed last year (1907), twenty-one 
years after being put in track and leaving 34,500 
ties in round numbers to show for the removals of 
the earlier years when no record was kept. A com- 
putation of these unrecorded ties that failed to be 
recorded was estimated at about 36,000, indicated that 
the number was a trifle over-estimated a little, being 

*Report made to the Committee on Ties and on Wood Pre- 
serving A. R. E. and M. of W. April 15th to 30th, 1908. 

355 



based upon the rate of failure for those treated in 
subsequent years. Beyond the lack of the record 
for the earlier 3^ears, this record is remarkable. 

Some small sources of possible error exist on 
account of the light stamp then used by which a 
small number became illegible and from the prob- 
ability of there being still a few not yet removed as 
over one per cent in 1907. The further source of 
premature renewals too, will cut some figure on ac- 
count of the almost entire ballasting of the line on 
which these 1,885 ties were laid during the last six 
years. 



356 



RECORD OF REMOVAL OF ZINC TANNIN 

TREATED TIES ON THE NEW MEXICO 

& COLORADO DIVISIONS. 

Treated in 1885 at Las Vegas, New Mexico. 

1885 No. Rem'r Av. yrs. ser. 

1 year 1886 11 11 

2 years 1887 34 68 

3 years 1888 (^"7 201 

4 years 1889 261 1,044 

5 years 1890 564 2,730 

6 years 1891 1,655 9,930 

7 years 1892 2,595 18,165 

8 years 1893 4,432 35,464 

9 years 1894 5^658 50,922 

10 years 1895 6,615 86,1 50 

11 years 1896 7,547 83,017 

12 years 1897 i3,5Si 162,612 

13 years 1898 15,745 204,585 

14 years 1899 11,484 160,776 

15 years 1900 8,440 126,600 

16 years 1901 4,472 71,662 

17 years 1902 5,878 41^146 

18 years 1903 3,278 59,004 

19 years 1904 4,695 89,205 

20 years 1905 4,633 92,660 

21 years 1906 3,046 63,966 

22 years 1907 1,300 28,600 

2Z years 1908 

24 years 1909 

105,934 1,388,508 
Av. 13. 1 1 years 

The foregoing statement is made up from and in- 
cluding all the records that have been kept by the A. 
T. & S. F. Ry. Co. at a great expense and comes as 
near a thoroughly reliable record as is possible on 
such an extended scale, as a member of the tie com- 
mittee of your association the writer has been labor- 
ing to secure the adoption of a single plan by which 

357 



the same end can be secured with a necessary degree 
of accuracy and at the least expenditure of time 
and labor. By means of the plan outlined, and in the 
form herein proposed to be confined to a limited 
section of track at a sufficient number of represent- 
ative points. 

The statement herein, it must be remembered, is 
the result of the record of one lot of 111,503 ties 
treated at Las Vegas, New Mexico under the direc- 
tion of Joseph P. Card, Mr. Wellhouse, the patentee 
of the Wellhouse or zinc-tannin process and of 
Octave Chanute, a pioneer in this business, to whom 
should be credited the results attained. I do not 
take this credit to myself as my knowledge at that 
time was obtained direct from these gentlemen, 
whose directions were carried out faithfully as pos- 
sible. 

It may be said in passing, that the rules then laid 
down were based upon many previous years of ex- 
perience, and subsequent experience indicates that 
these rules have proven to be based upon well de- 
termined facts which are as true today as they were 
then. 

While this statement indicates a life of 13.11 
years, it might have been still better if more care had 
been exercised in selecting the ties to be treated. 
Many thousands of the ties treated that year had pro- 
gressed so far towards decay that the treatment 
could do but little good and the absorption of 
chemicals was excessive. 

This sketch seems very eccentric in its angularity 
but the matter of faithful record is so important 
that we cannot afford to give it otherwise, although 
we know that the laws of nature act very different 
from that governing the road force. We must 
have true knowledge and an accumulation of a series 
of facts before we can convince those most in- 
terested, but not conversant with the matter, before 
the business will be saved from those interested 
is promoting new patents or new interests, or those 

358 



who will not accept anything except what accords 
with their own theories or interests. An arrogant 
assertion, if well pressed, will often obscure what 
is known to be sound facts and well established. 

When these mountain pine ties were treated, the 
fact was already established that the chloride of 
zinc was one of the very best agents for the preser- 
vation of woods. It was known that steam was the 
most effective agent for securing impregnation; it 
was known that steam at high pressure would scorch 
the timber fiber, but that at 250 deg. Fahr., the fiber 
would not be materially injured; it was known that 
too high pressure would injure the wood by parting 
the fiber, but that it would bear 100 lbs. pressure 
of the sq. in. during impregnation, etc., etc. Ail 
these are as true today as then. 

The claim is now made that creosote is the only 
agent of value. It is not denied, indeed it is well 
known, that creosote where it is possible to well im- 
pregnate the timber, gives the highest known results. 
There is, however, another well known fact that 
should not be lost sight of, to wit, that full impregna- 
tion costs beyond what the railroads can afford; and 
again, that a very minor portion of the timber which 
should be treated can, by any known process, be im- 
pregnated with creosote, except perhaps in the shape 
of paving blocks or short lengths of timber which 
can be reached from the ends. 

The new methods being industriously promoted; 
that of partial impregnation, is of more than doubt- 
ful value, and it would seem unwase to spend large 
sums of money in expensive works and in so treat- 
ing railroad ties ; not having the evidence of the 
value of the treatment. 

All these were recognized as facts by the man 
who directed the treatment of these ties twenty-three 
years ago, and they are just as true today as then. 

The additional fact we now have is that those pine 
ties with only an average life of four or five years, 
untreated have been given a life of over thirteen 

359 



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years, or three times that of the untreated. At that 
time, (1885), there were in evidence ties that had 
been treated and in track seventeen years and were 
still sound. 

In accumulating these records, careful, honest 
treatment, both of the subject and on the part of the 
operator in carrying out this policy will secure de- 
sired results, and conduce more to good works and 
good results throughout. 

Chicago, April 15, 1908. 

April 28, 1908. I transmit a diagram of results of 
the Zinc-Tannin Treated Ties, treated at the Las 
Vegas Plant in 1885, and also a consolidated diagram 
of the 1885 to 1889 inclusive. The account is not 
yet complete, so that some modifications can be made 
later. 

I submit this now for several reasons, first; be- 
cause this data has been obtained at much cost of time 
and expense by the Santa Fe officials, and although 
incomplete, are probably the most extensive and 
valuable records ever rendered in this or any other 
country, up to this time, and will become more and 
more valuable as time passes. 

The most cogent reason, however, at this time, is 
to still further impress on the association the im- 
portance of impressing the urgency of some well 
devised method of securing a more comprehensive 
and more easily applied method to secure reliable 
data. This is necessary to block the operation of 
some who are promoting and practicing new or here- 
tofore untried methods, probably of little value, to 
result in loss and disappointment to the railroad peo- 
ple represented by the Association. Further facts 
will be given as secured. 

April 28, 1908. 

April 30, 1908. In submitting these estimates of 
mean life of railroad cross ties deduced from the 
records furnished by the timber department of the 
A. T. & S. F. R, R. Co., we are able to enter some- 
what into the realm of fact. It will, however, be 

362 



years yet before the whole benefit will be reached. 
There is, however, now enough to place beyond 
doubt the benefit derived from the chloride of zinc 
treatment and to prove that under many adverse con- 
ditions the life of ties is three times that of the same 
kinds of timber untreated. It is proper to now assume 
that prolongation carries the life of the tie beyond the 
life of any sound timber under mechanical wear. This 
being the case, where is the sense of resorting to un- 
proved methods costing twice or three times as much ? 

The value of experience, versus theory, is well 
illustrated. A few years since this chloride of zinc 
treatment was pronounced a failure and "a waste of 
money/' the dead oil of coal tar being pronounced the 
only resort. 

It is not denied that the creosote is an excellent 
agent, but it was long since found too expensive to be 
economical for treatment of railroad ties. That a 
small amount of creosote can be used in connection 
with the chloride of zinc to some good purpose, 
seems probable, but alone; no, in most cases unless 
the timber be rotted. 

The ties in this case of the A. T. & S. F. suffered 
much from the partial decay as from the actual 
knowledge of the writer, quite a per cent of those 
treated were overseasoned and beyond the time that 
the chemicals would be any benefit. Probably those 
coming out previous to the eighth year would be 
those referred to. The writer will have something to 
say in regard to this question of "SEASONING" 
before treating. 

Referring back to the sketch of results on five 
years, — 1885-1889, dated April 27, 1908, which gives 
12.45 years, mean life up to 18^ years, and 33 per 
cent still in; should these ties last 2^4 years; the 
mean life would reach 15 3-10 years. The 1885 ties, 
nearly all our would as corrected be 13J4 years. 

Sketch of April 29, 1908, covering two groups, 
1890-1893, covering years when many ties were 
treated by the Burnett process, shows mean life of 

368 



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364 



lO.Q years, at the 15th year, and 14 per cent still in, 
and the Wellhouse (Zinc-Tannin) treated ties gives 
at nth year, a mean life of 10.9 years, with 60 per 
cent still in. These figures are hastily made and 
are held open to corrections, but it is apprehended 
that later estimates will hardly break the force of 
these deductions. 

The A. T. & S. F. Co., certainly deserve great 
credit for thus securing a very faithful and valuable 
record. 

"Wanted" — An authentic record for creosote or 
other vaunted processes. The writer has been urging 
the adoption of a well devised method of securing 
such records for several years back and hopes that 
it will be taken up and acted upon. In this con- 
nection would urge the stamp marking of the ties 
when being treated, even should other marking be 
used when the ties are laid. A sample of stamped 
figures will be offered at the committee meeting, 6th 
proximo. 

Chicago, April 30, 1908. 

PROPER METHODS OF TREATING TIMBER* 

Sir: One necessity in the conservation of our 
timber resources is that of economizing in the use of 
railway ties, which now form one of the largest de- 
mands on the timber supplies. In the earlier days 
when timber was plenty or easily obtained, little at- 
tention was given to the matter, but when the rail- 
ways had exhausted the local supplies of good timber 
they had to transport ties for long distances and to 
use less durable timbers. The necessity of economy 
in the supply and use of ties then became imminent 
and had to be met. This point was reached in this 
country about 25 years ago, and possibly at an earlier 
period in the old countries. 

Previous to 25 or 30 years ago, however, the mat- 
ter of timber treatment was studied in a desultory 
way, mainly by individual effort in the line of econ- 

365 



omy and not so much as a necessity. At the pres- 
ent timje the necessity has become pressing, and at- 
tention is being given to the use of steel and various 
other substitutes. The possibility of a satisfactory 
substitute seems remote, however, as yet. This be- 
ing the situation, it seems of the utmost importance 
that the very best methods of timber preservation 
should be found and that the experiences of the 
past should be heeded. No method built upon theory 
alone can be evolved. In the first place, those agents 
that will preserve wood from decay must be as- 
certained, and in the second place, the best methods 
of application must be sought. 

At the time that the writer first came into contact 
with this subject in the line of duty there were but 
few agents that seemed to be recognized as effective. 
Among these were the dead-oil of coal tar (creosote) 
and chloride of zinc. Both of these still stand ahead 
of all others. 

The value and economy of the former is conceded 
for special purposes, such as resistance to marine 
borers, or where prolonged life is sufficiently import- 
ant to justify the expense of full treatment. But for 
railway ties, the cost is too great, and is not justified 
in view of the better results that may be (and are 
being) obtained from the much cheaper chloride 
treatment. In relation to partial treatment with 
creosote, past experiences are not encouraging. 

The method of the application of the agent to be 
considered, covers the physical laws governing the 
various parts of the operation, and also the physical 
character of the woods to be operated upon. The 
writer, with aid from others, has endeavored to cover 
this ground, deducing his knowledge from experience 
and careful study, and from oft-repeated experiments. 
These investigations, studies and experiences have 
extended through a series of nearly 25 years in this 
country, supplementing that of some of the soundest 
and most successful timber treating experts in the 
country. It is claimed that European countries are 
far in advance of this country in this matter, but the 



writer has doubts of this. Very little information as 
to details such as the practical operator must possess 
have been offered from foreign sources. 

It is satisfactory to be able to say that some defi- 
nite results have been obtained by a cheap and 
simple method with the use of chloride of zinc- 
modified by the use of glue and tannin as a retardant 
(the Wellhouse process). By this process and by 
others not so well defined, the poorer and less valu- 
able timbers have proved very lasting. If the screw 
spike was used instead of the old-fashioned spike, 
the mechanical destruction of the tie would be 
checked and the life still further prolonged. 

The agitation and present effort now being made 
in regard to the collection of reliable data it is hoped 
will add to the data now possessed. Too often, 
claims of results that are misleading have come from 
interested promoters. 

Now that the results of timber treatment are be- 
coming known and the value of the treatment of 
ties has been demonstrated, there is a general move- 
ment among the railways to resort to such treatment, 
largel}^ from necessity. This is due to the growing 
scarcity of tie timber, and the increasing cost. There 
is also a desire to aid in the conservation of the 
forests by the resort to the substitution of softer 
timbers, which are not adaptable for use as ties unless 
treated. Recently, under the inviting prospects in 
this timber-treating business, certain new processes 
have appeared and new methods have been formu- 
lated, under new and plausible theories that seem to 
have appealed to a certain extent to the railways. 
The main reason given for these processes is the 
alleged failure of anything of value having been put 
into practice in this country. According to these 
new authorities, everything heretofore offered and 
practiced may as well be "rubbed out." It is a severe 
thing to say that this new influence and teaching has 

367 



the appearance of arising from a desire to invade 
this promising field for commercial interests alone. 

In the first place, the new methods are offered on 
faith and on untried theory. They are without the 
"test of time/' and are in the face of many failures 
in cases equally plausible. Some of the claims seem 
to require a reversal or at least a modification of 
natural laws. Others as noted above, throw dis- 
credit upon what has been done already in this coun- 
try. With the present state of knowledge as to 
methods of which we have long experience, it is 
absurd to claim that an untried method shall negative 
all our past practice and research. 

The writer has given the matter much time in care- 
ful investigation, and has spared no expense to get 
at the facts, without aid from any outside source. 
He cannot patiently accept the present situation, or 
allow these unwarranted assumptions to go unchal- 
lenged. The absurdity of the conclusions, and the 
industry with which they have been pressed upon 
the railway managers, while being made a source 
of profit to the promoters, makes it important that 
their nature be understood. To argue this would 
be a labor almost in vain, unless railway officers and 
managers make a greater effort to fully usderstand 
the nature of the business before making an ex- 
pensive contract such as is involved in a treating 
plant and its operation. The railways should be 
advised to build and operate their own plants, and 
be able in this way to fully control their operations. 

Samuel M. Rowe, M. Am. Soc. C. E. 
364 Monadnock Block, Chicago, June 15, 1908. 
*Engineering News, July 2, 1908. 



368 



SHOULD THE RAILWAYS OPERATE THEIR 
OWN TIE-PRESERVING PLANTS OR 
HAVE THE WORK DONE BY 
CONTRACT?* 

Sir : Referring to the article written by Mr. S. 
M. Rowe in your issue of July 2, entitled "Proper 
Methods of Treating Timber:" 

The Wellhouse process for the treating of timber 
is being gradually dropped for the reason that the 
extra cost is not justified by the increased life of the 
material treated. Creosote oil is fast becoming rec- 
ognized as the onl}^ efficient preservative for timber 
treatment. It is true that zinc chloride, in some 
localities, has been fairly successful, but to take 
it as a whole it cannot be considered so. 

I wish to draw special attention to Mr. Rowe's 
remarks near the close of his article, wherein he 
states that railways should be advised to build and 
operate their own plants, and to be able in this way 
to fully control their operations. 

For many years I did timber treating work for 
one of the largest railway systems in the United 
States, and naturally I would not criticize their 
methods of treating, or the manner in which they 
operate their plants. I can say, howver, that leading 
railway companies who have treating done by com- 
mercial plants, are most rigid in their specifications, 
requiring all material to be brought up to the stand- 
ard of perfection before it will be accepted; but in 
their own plants they cannot see the necessity of 
employing thoroughly competent and experienced 
men for operating, for the reason that they are 
not willing to pay the salaries that competent men 
command. The result is that many railway com- 
panies are building large and expensive wood-preserv- 
ing plants and placing men in charge of them 
who know absolutely nothing about the principles 
of wood preservation. The consequence is that 



they are merely training up men, who, by the time 
that they are in position to be of value to their own 
company, are seized by large commercial concerns, 
who recognize the necessity of having experienced 
and competent men to operate their plants, in order 
to fulfill the specifications in connection with the 
treatment of railway and government material. 

The result is that the railway companies waste 
hundreds of thousands of dollars in the operation of 
their plants by having inexperienced and incompetent 
men to handle their work for them. 

Why then advise railway companies to build and 
operate their own plants, when large commercial 
concerns have been organized, combining experience 
and capital, for the successful operation of their 
plants ? 

By having men in charge who have had years of 
experience, most of them having been trained up 
with railroad companies and who fully understand 
the requirements for treating timber, it stands to 
reason that large commercial concerns can treat 
material much cheaper, and get out a far superior 
product as a result of continuous operation. 

Yours truly, F. D. Beal. 

Eagle Harbor, Washington, July lo, 1908. 
^Engineering News July 30th, 1908. 



370 



Mr. Beal has the thanks of the writer for his cour- 
teous criticism of the position taken in the article 
referred to, but we still beg to demur to his conclu- 
sions. 

That the tendency is altogether to the use of 
Creosote as the only effective preservative of cross- 
ties, is both hasty and erroneous. Several are still 
using the Chloride of Zinc and some of them are 
making further use of this agent in connection with 
a limited amount of Creosote oil with a good 
promise of excellent results and furthermore we feel 
quite sure of results both satisfactory and economi- 
cal; we believe too, that some who abandoned the 
Chloride treatment some little time since will find 
that they made an expensive and ill considered mis- 
take. 

In relation to the position that a commercial treat- 
ment can better be done, we beg to still adhere to 
the position taken. 

The kind of a man that a railroad company will 
choose, is such as will faithfully conserve its inter- 
est in faithfully performing his duties to the best of 
his abilities and there is no reason that he shall not 
be equally competent after proper training and ex- 
perience. To a man placed by his company in such 
a responsible position as this does usually feel 
bound to by every incentive of honor to perform his 
duties most faithfully and with his utmost ability. 
Such a course, is of course in such a case, the readi- 
est way to advance his own interest. On the other 
hand the manager of a commercial plant has, no 
matter what his abilities, the incentive constantly 
before him to serve the interests of his employer. 

In regard to Creosote as the only agent for the 
treatment of railroad ties we, at the risk of reitera- 
tion, will say: 

In the past both in this country and in others a 
much prolonged life has been secured by a plentiful 
use of Creosote oil, presumably of about the quality 
now being generally used in this country. (There 

371 



being no definite information to the contrary.) This 
oil is of such nature that perhaps the best knowledge 
is obtained by fractional distillation such as any 
novice can carry through and which will identify 
variously constituted oils. Much has been written, 
but little in the shape of definite knowledge has been 
elicited as to the preservative value of the various 
constituents, the main point gained being to settle 
upon a uniform method of distillation by which oil 
may be compared. In practice, however, there are 
certain facts elicited that are properly to be consid- 
ered in placing a true estimate on the value of 
Creosote. Its value as an antiseptic taking it as a 
whole, the good results must attest. The wood pre- 
serving experts of the government should determine 
the value of each component part as we have sug- 
gested, (Preservation of Timber, Page 242-3), some 
three years since but not yet done. 

It is probably safe to say that most of the remark- 
able results in treating ties and timber are secured 
on soft open woods, or possibly on those consisting 
largely of sap timber. Experience shows that Creo- 
sote oil can by no known process of impregnation be 
made to penetrate sound, well grown heart wood in 
any case of the so called hard woods. The writer 
has not seen a single case where a sound Red Oak 
tie has been penetrated to the heart, while he has 
seen many that after being over-seasoned to the 
verge of decay or worm eaten as many are. 

The fact remains that many of the woods, which, 
if treated, would make the best and most valuable 
ties will only take the Creosote superficially. 

They are simply well blacked. 

I would be pleased to refer Mr. Beal back to a 
very able address Jan. i8th, 1905, at New Orleans, 
made by him before The Wood Preservers' Associa- 
tion. 



372 



CHLORIDE OF ZINC AS AN AID IN 

IMPREGNATING PILES WITH 

CREOSOTE. 

In Creosoting piles, especially the harder and more 
valuable woods by the best known methods of the 
present time, little more than a superficial impregna- 
tion is secured even with the much increased press- 
ure. In Marine work the thoughtless act of trimming 
off a protruding knot will break the necessary con- 
tinuity of the protection and let the teredo work its 
mischief. There are three treating plants now operat- 
ing, using the Zinc-Creosote process, each of which 
are operated by as bright and able operator as is to 
be found in this country and who all agree that the 
Creosote oil is carried much farther into the wood 
than it is possible to penetrate with the Creosote 
alone. Observations on the output of several hun- 
dred thousand ties per month are confirming this 
fact, and the writer hopes to be able by the aid of 
these operators to give a confirmation in the near 
future. 

The only necessary change in the treatment is to 
increase the proportion of Creosote oil used. It is 
easy to comprehend the importance of this to the 
treatment of piles for all uses as the thorough impreg- 
nation of the piles with the Zinc-Chloride with a more 
extended penetration of the Creosote will mark an 
area in the treating of Piles, Ties and Timber. 



378 



FUNGUS CULTURE 

PLAN FOR CULTURE ROOM 



For ordinary amateur room, the most suitable 
location is in a basement room with masonry walls 
(or concrete) where the temperature will be meas- 
urably equable winter or summer, or it may be par- 
titioned off from a larger room with brick, terra- 
cotta or concrete walls. An earthen floor or of concrete 
which is better, will do. 

A room 10 feet long and 8 feet wide will prob- 
ably be sufificient in area, with a door two feet wide 
and a small w^indow closely fitted for the purpose 
of observing a hygrometer set on inside of the win- 
dow for directing the observer to control the degree 
of moisture in the room. 

The bins or benches will be best constructed of 
reinforced concrete; should be made in the form of 
a shallow trough and arranged on each side of the 
room, the first or lower trough on the floor leaving 
a clear walk through the middle of the room. The 
second, not less than 16 inches above the lower one, 
receding from the center walk, much as is done with 
the benches in a florist's room. And so on to any 
desired height, or which the height of the room al- 
lows. 

As the length is too great to support itself, two 
or more supports may be placed on the shelves or 
troughs. A small drain should be provided to carry 
off any surplus water that may incidentally collect, 
but should not allow the entrance of a draught of 
air, as the less ventilation the better. Then quoting 
from Prof. Parley Spaulding, Pathologist of the 
Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, D. C: 

"It will be found after gettii?g fairly started 
that it is advisable to use comparatively small 
test-blocks, so as to obtain results fairly rapidly. 
The size of these test-blocks should, of course, 
be uniform in a given experiment, and the 
chances are that it would be much better if they 

375 



were uniform in all experiments, so as to give 
a basis for comparison between different ex- 
periments. 

"Ordinary soils may be used, but in order to 
make the experiment of value, it should be thor- 
oughly sterilized by steam or dry heat before 
being placed in the compartments. Dry heat is 
probably preferable, as under ordinary condi- 
tions the sterilization will be more complete 
when performed in this way. Having built your 
compartments and placed the sterilized soil 
therein, you are ready to obtain the fungi with 
which to inoculate your test pieces. Of course, 
the most accurate way of doing this would be 
by growing pure culture of the different fungi 
and placing them in the soil which is to be used. 
Practically, however, and for the sake of quick 
results, it is probably better to obtain a consid- 
erable quantity of wood rotted by certain fungi 
with which you wish to work; for instance, a 
considerable portion of a railroad tie which has 
been rotted by Latinus lepideus would make 
a very good means for starting with that fungus. 
It is, of course, necessary to pick such a timber as 
has no other fungus growing visibly upon it, and 
also one that is fairly well rotted by the fungus 
wanted. 

"Reasonable care in this respect will insure 
practically pure culture; at least, there need be 
little apprehension as to the obtaining of two 
or more wood-rotting fungi in this way. 

"A compartment one foot deep, 3 to 4 feet 
wide, and two feet long will easily accommo- 
date a series of a hundred or more test blocks, 
2 to 3 inches wide, and 12 to 18 inches in length, 
provided these are placed upright, which, in my 
opinion, is the proper way of placing them. In 
this way one has left above the soil several 
inches of wood, upon which may be placed a 
suitable label for distinguishing each block from 
its fellows. (It is suggested that a 2x2 inch 

876 



block, 12 inches long, would be the best dimen- 
sions, as the concrete troughs will retain nearly 
permanent moisture and that 6 or 8 inches of 
earth would be enough. "R.") 

"It is necessary to supply water about the 
same as one would to an ordinary greenhouse 
crop. It is also best to have fairly warm tem- 
perature (not above 100 deg. Fahr. "R.")? as 
results will be obtained quicker than they will 
if the temperature is cool. 

"Too great expectations must not be placed 
upon the rapidity with which rotting takes place 
in such an experimental test-room, as even in 
nature it takes a number of months for an ordi- 
nary sized timber to rot, under the most favor- 
able circumstances. The chances are that in 
some respects your room will not give favorable 
conditions in all particulars, and therefore the 
action may be even a little slower than would 
naturally occur out of doors. You may reason- 
ably expect results from the ordinary wood-rot- 
ting fungi in one year's time with the most 
easily rotted woods. If the more durable woods 
are to be tested, the results will be correspond- 
ingly long in becoming evident. 

"While water must be applied liberally, the 
soil must not be allowed to become water- 
soaked; it must^ be kept fairly moist, about as 
one would do in raising an ordinary crop of 
lettuce, or other small vegetables. This point 
is one which must be watched with particular 
care. 

"Some fungi will do well with a large amount 
of moisture, while others will do equally well 
with very little. It will take some little knowl- 
edge^ of the natural growth of the different fungi 
to hit the correct degree of moisture and heat 
to be used." 

Both temperature and degree of moisture to be 
used will be determined by trial, the water and heat 
being convenient, the moisture for the air can be 

377 



furnished by a slight jet of steam, which will fur- 
nish this under the control of the operator — the 
hygrometer furnishes the indication or guide. There 
should be no ventilation except what is unavoidable 
by entering the door, the ceiling of the room to be 
airtight. 



rUNSUS CULTURE 
PLAN OF CULTURE BOOM 




C.f,yt,fTlf^,e//kliXU>^.^.. y&vu-t^. 



3EE 



lEE 



END SECTIOWS 



SlOE ELEVATION. 



FUNGUS CULTURE ROOM 

The room should be well lighted for inspection by 
electric lights turned on on entering, and one so 
placed as to light the hj^grometer whenever needed, 
from the outside of the room, as well as a common 
thermometer (Fahrenheit), to be placed by the side 
of the hygrometer in the same light. 

378 



The room should be heated by a small steam 
heater as shown in plan of room, and a simple ar- 
rangement by which warm water can be drawn as 
needed, using a sprinkling pot to apply it to the 
culture soil. 

The water tank can be placed on a shelf and a 
sufficient quantity at the same temperature as the 
room. 

HYGROMETER. 



FOR FUNGUS COUTURE- ROOM. 






'^ImJ^J^. /^t^. 




aO)( OPEH 



t»OICATO« . 



KtoTC: Box TO BE riRMCY l»A»TeN»I> XoecTKKR V*\'rH SCitCW*. 

InoiCA-roR -TO «E «EcunBty oLueo^ NO scnciNS, thkh omossco 
TO size- Ai.j.,Kxcci»TiHo»c»,Toi«,To Be tHEi-u vARHiSMsa. 

HYGROMETER 

Accompanying the plan is a simple form of hy- 
grometer that will answer every purpose. It is pre- 
supposed that the room has permanent water and 
steam, and electric light adjacent. 

379 



If temporary boxes are used, the front flange of 
the shelves can be reduced to minimum height. 
The size of the whole lay-out can be reduced or 
enlarged to suit the case in hand. "R." 

Chicago, January 15, 1909. 



ESTIMATES RELATING TO WOOD BLOCK PAVEMENT 

Based upon three standards of blocks, four, five 
and six inch. Using a block 4"x4"x8" there will be 
required 31.5 blocks to the square yard, equal to 
3.1-2 cubic feet of wood. 

For 4 in. deep equal M. B. M., .036 at $20, equal $0.72, 
requires 3 cu. ft. 

For 5 in. deep equal M. B. M., .045 at $20, equal $0.90 
requires 3.75 cu. ft. 

For 6 in. deep equal M. B. M., .054 at $20, equal $1.08 
requires 4.50 cu. ft. 

BASE FOR WOOD BLOCK PAVEMENT 

The base for wood block pavement should be 
made of the best quality of Portland cement con- 
crete, properly made and laid, six inches deep; four 
and a half cubic feet per square yard of pavement 
will be required, equal to .17 cubic yard, at $5.00 
per cubic yard, costing 85 cents. 

COST OF TREATING WOOD BLOCKS 

A fair net estimate for cost of treating the 
best woods for paving blocks, giving sixteen pounds 
of creosote per cubic foot of timber would be at 
cost of oil put in, would be about one cent per pound 
of creosote oil put in. Then, for the three classes, 
the cost would be about as follows: 

Four inch deep, 3. cu. ft. of wood, per cu. yd. 48c 
Five " " 3.75 " " " " " " " 60c 
Six " " 4.5 " " "" " " " " 72c 

380 



This gives us a total cost per square yard of 
paving as follows: 



Depth 


M.B.M. 
Lumber 


Cub. Ft. 
Wood 


Concrete 
4.5 Yd. $5 


Cost 
Wood 


Cost 
Treated 


Total 
Cost 


4 in. 

5 in. 

6 in. 


.038 
.045 
.054 


3.00 
3.75 
4.50 


$0.85 
.85 
.85 


$0.72 

.90 

1.08 


$0.48 
.60 

.72 


$2.05 
2.35 
2.65 



In the estimate of 16 pounds per cubic foot treat- 
ment is deemed ample for good blocks as the timber 
that will take more is not deemed suitable for good 
paving. 

The six-inch depth of blocks is suitable for very 
severe traffic and will perhaps not be over five per 
cent of the paved area of any city, and perhaps 70 
per cent of the requirements will be of the 4-inch, 
leaving the remaining 20 per cent to the five-inch 
on business streets. 

The pavement here contemplated is intended to 
be the best that the best material to be obtained 
for the purpose, whether of wood blocks, concrete 
or of creosoted wood to be suitable in its texture 
and strength for wear under the conditions, but not 
necessarily of high class merchantable timber, as 
much good wood not so valuable will make good 
paving. 

The present practice of laying the concrete foun- 
dation for the block pavement, asphalt, etc., is a 
good one, and experience shows that even Portland 
cement need not be specified (see results on Jackson 
Boulevard, laid in 1895, where Utica natural cement 
was used), as the value of all cements, even the 
very best, depend largely upon the method of treat- 
ment in laying. 

In the preservative process, too, the way it is 
done is equally important, but there is no question 
that the true dead oil of coal tar (the genuine creo- 
sote) is the most suitable, and if understandingly 
applied, will give from fifty to one hundred per cent 
more service than can be secured by some agents 
and under some practices of today. 

881 



Another requirement necessary to make a good 
pavement is the free use of coal tar pitch in finish- 
ing a new laid block pavement, with an accompany- 
ing dressing of clean sand, the latter furnishmg a 
slight cushion over the concrete base and a surface 
dressing while the pitch fills all seams and covers 
the surface, the sand mingling with the pitch, gives 
the surface to service at once. A barrel of pitch 
should cover 20 square yards so that perhaps an 
increase of cost of hfteen cents per square yard will 
accrue. 

It must be conceded that wood blocks must, to 
get the best service, be set with the fiber vertical, 
hence the blocks will be put four to six inches 
lengthwise of the timber ducts, hence most hard 
woods can be impregnated with creosote without 
difficulty under one hundred pounds retort pres- 
sure, with absolutely no injury to the blocks and 
they go into use perfectly sound and with no ten- 
dency to break across as in some cases where they 
are expanded and prepared to check under slight 
strain by having been exposed to undue pressure 
during impregnation. 

The timber now usually specified for wood blocks 
at present is the Southern Yellow Pine, but it is 
probable that there are several other woods that 
will wear just as well, and possibly better, that will 
be accepted in time, as the cost of this wood in- 
creases in price and experiences show up their 
suitability. 

The demand for wood blocks has grown up very 
recently and many are entering upon this industry 
and a few suggestions may not be out of place as 
to the general policy best adapted to carry out the 
industry. 

If the sawing and treating can be done in the 
immediate location of a suitable supply of timber, 
all can be best done in the one location, and if on 
a line of navigation, the finished blocks can be 
shipped in the hold in bulk. They can be dis- 
charged directly to the vessel and again unloaded, 
both by automatic carriers, easily erected. 



Should the work be distant both from mills and 
from water connection, then the lumber should be 
cut to suitable dimensions to be cut into blocks at 
the treating plant, discharging from the block saws 
to the cages and thence to the cars that carry them 
away. 

In regard to the method used in impregnating the 
blocks, much will depend upon this: A block four 
inches wide and eight inches long should give the 
best wear, a longer block being more likely to tilt 
under a heavy load, which would tend to unseat it, 
and a longer block would be likely to break it in 
the middle, no matter how well set or supported it 
may be. The value of blocks, however, will pri- 
marily depend upon the selection of thoroughly 
sound, well-grown wood and should not be subject 
to any deleterious effects from an impregnating 
process where excessive pressure has been applied. 
However treated, not more than seventy-five to 
one hundred pounds should be used on the retort 
charge during impregnation. 

SPECIFICATIONS FOR 

CONCRETE FOUNDATION FOR WOOD BLOCK 

PAVEMENT 

Preparation of Street Surface: 

Presupposing that the curb and gutter are in 
place, the surface of the street should be graded to 
the sub-base, with a bearing uniform in character, 
well rolled. Then a concrete, as hereinafter speci- 
fied, shall be made in the immediate vicinity so that 
the concrete can be taken immediately from the 
mixing board and be deposited in place, forming the 
full depth, be it 5 or more inches in thickness, each 
course against the face of that previously deposited, 
care being taken that the full quantity shall be 
sufficient after proper tamping to make the pre- 
scribed thickness. If the concrete is rnachine made, 
the methods of depositing by the individual shovel 
load shall still be adhered to. In no case shall the 
concrete be leveled with the shovel, but must be 
leveled by the tamper. 



Concrete: 

A good concrete is made for this purpose with a 
proportion of one part cement, three parts sand and 
six parts of crushed limestone or granite, the former 
being good enough if rock is good, and all dust 
sifting out with a one-quarter inch mesh sieve be 
rejected. 

Clean gravel and sand if in proper proportion 
as to dimensions of the different components, may 
be substituted for the crushed rock and sand. 
The Kind of Cement: 

If the concrete is mixed and handled as herein 
specified, a good natural cement will make a good 
concrete for this service. (See the work by the 
South Park Commission on Jackson Boulevard from 
Michigan Boulevard to the south branch, which was 
made with Utica cement.) 
Sand: 

The sand to be used shall be what is usually 
designated as "Torpedo sand," or more particularly 
a sand in which the grades run from one-quarter 
inch down in diminishing quantities as well as in size. 

Dust or very fine sand to be rejected. 
Crushed Rock: 

Shall be what may be termed "crusher run," re- 
jecting all that a one-quarter inch meshed screen 
will take out. Good, clean gravel may be substi- 
tuted if similarly graded as to size. 
Amount of Water to be Used: 

The water to be used should be the least as will 
well wet the components so as to make the concrete 
of such consistency as to slip off the shovel when 
finally deposited and no more. 
Method of Mixing: 

If mixed by hand, the sand should be deposited 
on a proper board, being followed by the amount of 
dry cement and the mass turned over and over 
until well mixed, then the crushed rock or gravel, 
as the case may be, shall be spread over the bed, 
the crushed rock being first well wetted, and^ then 
the whole mass turned over repeatedly until it has 
become homogeneous and then deposited in place as 
before described. 

384 



Recent Paving practbce 



By J. A. Moore.* 
During the season of 1908, approximately seventy- 
two miles of pavements were laid in Chicago under 
special assessment proceedings, at approximate cost of 
$2,825,000. 

The amount of various kinds of pavements laid is as 
follows : 

Asphalt 38 miles. 

Brick 9 miles. 

Granite block 6.5 miles. 

Macadam 14 miles. 

Creosoted blocks 4.5 miles. 

Compared with recent years the amount of work done 
was about seventy-five per cent, of the normal amount. 
Several causes contributed to the decrease in the amount 
of work done, among them being the financial depres- 
sion, a strike which lasted about six weeks and which 
finally resulted in the disruption of the "Pavers' Coun- 
cil," a central organization embracing all the paving 
trades; delay on account of reconstruction of street 
car tracks and inability on the part of contractors to 
secure granite paving blocks. 

The tendency of the times seems to be toward de- 
creased use of the cheaper paving materials, such as 
asphalt and macadam, and toward the increased use 
of granite and creosoted wooden blocks. 

The increasing use of motor driven vehicles has 
demonstrated the unfitness of macadam to withstand 
their wear. Instances can be cited where good macadam 
streets have been practically destroyed in the course 
of a couple of years where they happened to be so 
located as to draw heavy automobile traffic. 

Bituminous macadam, although approximately as 
expensive as asphalt, will probably be the solution of the 
automobile problem. 

*The great and growing- interest of the public in the subject of wood 
block pavement would seem to justify the reproduction of Mr. 
Moore's paper in full, abounding as it does in practical information. 

385 



Asphalt seems to have passed its crest of popularity 
as a paving material, although its use will probably 
exceed that of all other materials combined for some 
time to come. 

Creosoted wooden block is attracting much attention 
at present, largely on account of being comparatively 
noiseless. Your modern businessman likes as little to 
have his slumbers disturbed at four A. M. by the rounds 
of the milkman as he does to have his attention dis- 
tracted by the pounding of heavy loads over rough 
granite blocks during business hours. It is probable 
that the next few years will see a large number of the 
down-town streets, as well as many of the outlying ones, 
paved with this material. 

Creosoted block pavements already laid are wearing 
exceptionally well, and are generally giving good satis- 
faction. "The South Park" board of commissioners has 
recently adopted its use for intersections of car track 
streets with boulevards, the railway companies doing 
the paving in connection with the reconstruction of 
their tracks. 

During the past season the writer had charge of the 
paving of Cottage Grove Ave. from Oakwood Boule- 
vard to 51st Street, with creosoted blocks. The work 
was done by the Parker- Washington Co. at $3.44 per 
square yard; amount of pavement laid 32,268 square 
yards, or approximately one and one half miles of road- 
way. The blocks were treated at Norfolk, Va., by the 
"United States'' Wood Preserving Co. Long Leaf 
Southern pine, impregnated with an average of 18.13 
pounds of oil per cubic foot of timber was used. An 
engineer was sent to the plant by the City to inspect the 
treatment. The blocks, which were laid on a six inch 
concrete foundation covered with a one inch sand 
cushion, were four inches wide and four inches in depth, 
and were laid diagonally across the roadway. Expan- 
sion joints filled with coal tar were placed next to the 
curbing and at intervals of 50 feet across the roadway. 
The street has a car track on it. One side was com- 
pleted before the other was torn up. The blocks were 
driven and wedged together fairly tight. Fine sand 
was used as a filler. Expansion of the blocks due to 

386 



the first rains squeezed practically all the tar out of 
the joints, and considerable trouble has since been ex- 
perienced by the blocks buckling during heavy rains. 
The part of the street which is behaving badly in this 
respect is confined to one side of the street for a space of 
about four blocks. The reason why this part of the 
street buckles and other parts do not is not apparent, 
but is probably due to some different treatment of the 
blocks. Sand is not the proper filler for creosoted 
blocks, being too pervious and inelastic. An impervious 
filler which will prevent any part but the exposed sur- 
face of the blocks from becoming saturated with mois- 
ture greatly lessens the liability of buckling. 

The reconstruction of 109 miles of street railway 
track (single track measurement) involving the lay- 
ing of 470,000 square yards of granite block pavement 
has been accomplished by the two principal street rail- 
way companies during the past year. Fifty thousand 
square yards of this was paved with old blocks which 
were redressed. The railway companies absorbed 80 
per cent, of the available supply of granite blocks, 
rendering it necessary for the city to delay most of 
its projected paving of this class to a later date. The 
principal source of supply of the granite paving blocks 
used in Chicago in the past has been the quarries of 
central Wisconsin. These quarries were unable to sup- 
ply half the blocks wanted last year, and other sources 
of a supply, such as Sioux Falls, North Carolina and 
Thousand Islands were drawn on for large quantities. 
Somewhat similar conditions are in prospect for the 
coming year, the City probably having two or ^ three 
times as much granite block paving projected as it will 
be able to secure. All the street railway paving was 
done by the companies directly, by non-union labor. The 
blocks were laid upon concrete foundations, in which 
their tracks were embedded. 

The Chicago City Railways Co. uses granite block 
''brow" paving outside of its outer rails where the city 
paves car track streets with other than granite. Two 
rows of stretchers are laid along the outer rails, the 
work being carried on concurrently with the city con- 
tract. This form of brow paving stands up well where 

387 



laid on good concrete foundation, and proves to be 
quite satisfactory. Grooved rails are used exclusively 
in track reconstruction. 

The city has laid as yet no concrete pavements under 
special assessment proceedings, although a considerable 
amount of this pavement has recently been laid, largely 
in alleys. As a whole it does not promise to wear well, 
under medium to heavy traffic. Pavement in said alleys 
laid in the past year already shows marked wear. After 
the finishing surface is broken through deterioration is 
rapid. Repairs necessitate taking out the worn out 
section from the bottom up. It has the advantage of 
being smooth when not badly worn, is sanitary and 
very easily cleaned and is comparatively cheap. It 
will not rot, and, barring the effect of traffic, should be- 
come stronger with age. Expansion joints filled with 
some elastic material should be used in its construc- 
tion. 

Brick as paving material has been used rather more 
extensively during the past season than for some time. 

Grout filler for brick has been abandoned and tar or 
asphaltic cement substituted on account of the difficul- 
ties encountered in keeping traffic off of grout filled 
pavements a sufficient length of time to allow it to 
properly set. Grouting when well done, adds much to 
the length of life of the pavement. Tar fillers are 
too brittle in cold weather. Asphaltic cement, if prop- 
erly tempered, will perhaps obviate the above objections. 
As yet its use in Chicago is too recent to form an 
opinion as to its merits. Fillers are, after all, not of 
major importance in the construction of brick pavements. 
The quality of the brick is the first essential. "POOR 
BRICKS'* has been the cause of discrediting brick pave- 
ments in Chicago. Soft brick or brick that is brittle 
will not stand the traffic to which it is subjected to in 
this city. A fair sample of brick pavement is on south 
Dearborn St. south of Jackson Boulevard. This pave- 
ment, which was laid a repair job, necessitated by the 
reconstruction of the street railway tracks, has been 
laid less than three months. Apparently its length of 
life will not be greater than two years. It is only fair 



to say that the brick in this pavement were rejected 
by the city brick tester for new work. 

A new form of wood pavement has attracted atten- 
tion of late, has been used by the city to a considerable 
extent for paving bridge floors and approaches, is known 
as the Shuman pavement. It consists of strips of boards 
bolted together in such manner that the edges form 
a wear surface, and in sections two or three feet 
sauare, or of such dimensions as may best fit the space 
they are to occupy. The sections of pavement are 
dipped into some bituminous liquid. A sample of this 
pavement may be seen on Dearborn St. east of the 
Federal Building. It wears somewhat unevenly and 
does not promise to have a very great length of life. 
Exclusive of foundation it costs about $2.50 per square 
yard. It is probably better adapted to bridges for 
bridge floors than for any other purpose, as it is light 
and can be made any desired depth or size of section. 

Paper read by Mr. J. A. Moore before the Illinois Society of Engl 
peers and Surveyors, January 28, 1908. 



Chicago city prices on finished pavement includ- 
ing 6 inches of concrete but exclusive of curb and 
gutter : 

Asphalt $2.20 per square yard. 

Granite 3.90 " 

Brick 2.40 " 

Creos. Blocks 3.50 " 

Macadam 1.25 " 

January 28, 1909. 



THE OPEN TANK METHOD OF PRESERVING TIMBER; 

RESULTS OBTAINED WITH TIES AND 

PAVING BLOCKS* 

Sir: A recent issue of Engineering News [Oct. 22, 
1908.— Ed.] contains an article by Mr. Howard Weiss 
of the Forest Service, on the open-tank method of pre- 
serving timber. Mr. Weiss states that the Forest Ser- 
vice will welcome all criticisms and suggestions tending 
to advance the work. Therefore, I take the opportunity 
of presenting a few facts pertaining to the results ob- 
tained from ties and lumber treated by the open-tank 
or Seely process, ''as it is also known,'' which have 
evidently been overlooked by Mr. Weiss. 

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy R. R., in 1868, 
laid 25,000 ties on the New Boston branch of their road, 
treated by the open -tank or Seely process as an experi- 
ment. These ties failed and were all rem.oved in six 
years. The failure was due to interior rot. The outer 
portion to a depth of one-half to three-quarters of an 
inch was apparently hard and sound whereas the inner 
wood where the creosote oil had not penetrated had 
completely failed. These ties caused the Burlington 
considerable annoyance as, to outward appearances, they 
were in a perfectly sound condition when it was dis- 
covered that the interior was completely rotted. 

At the time the Burlington Road made this experi- 
ment, the open-tank or Seely process was new, and Mr. 
Seely undoubtedly performed this work to the best of 
his ability. 

The process also failed on the Chicago, Rock Island 
and Pacific Ry. in six years, from the same cause as on 
the Burlington, and it also failed to preserve the pine 
lumber used in the Government Works on the Saint 
Clair Flats for a longer period than six years. 

*This communication from Mr. Card is quoted iiere as an answer 
to inquiries as to the value of the so-called "OPEN TANK" method 
of treating ties and paving blocks. 

The author would simply repeat what has often been asserted, 
good railroad ties and perhaps any wood that will make a good pav- 
ing block, would have to be well dried (rotted, using the word in a 
qualified sense), before it could be well impregnated in this way 
successfully. 

390 



Paving blocks treated by the open-tank process have 
produced good results in several places. In Cleve- 
land, O., some were in use for about ten years. In the 
City of Paris all paving blocks which are used under 
heavy traffic are treated by soaking in open tanks of 
hot oil. They fail from wear in about eight years, and 
this treatment answers. The blocks used on the boule- 
vards where the traffic is light are given a larger dose 
of oil, in this case they are subjected to pressure in 
closed cylinders. They last about 16 years. 

The open-tank method of creosoting will undoubtedly 
produce good results if it is confined to the treating of 
blocks, shingles, posts, etc., or in other words small- 
dimension lumber, and it will not be successful in this 
case unless the utmost care is taken in the seasoning of 
the lumber before treatment. As to the treatment of 
railroad ties by this method, a loblolly-pine tie, pro- 
vided it is thoroughly seasoned, would probably absorb 
the greatest amount of solution in the least time, but 
any other class of ties treated by the open-tank process 
would take from two to three weeks to absorb the same 
amount of solution that could be injected under 100 lbs. 
pressure per sq. in. in four hours time. 

Undoubtedly the Seely process failed in the treatment 
of large-dimensions lumber for the want of proper sea- 
soning; and the length of time it would take to thor- 
oughly saturate the wood was so great that the treat- 
men was cut short and poor results followed. 

The treatment of ties with small doses of creosote oil 
has not been a success in this country or in Europe, the 
Robbins process and also the Blyth process failed to 
give results, and practically all the European coun- 
tries which are using creosote have for a long time been 
injecting from 10 to 15 lbs. of oil per cu. ft. of wood, 
and by so doing obtain a life of from 12 to 20 years. 

It can be easily seen where a small dose oil treat- 
ment will fail to give results, especially in treating a 
class of timber like red and black oak and other in- 
ferior oaks. This class of timber will rot from the 
center out in almost all cases, and unless the treat- 
ment is pushed to refusal "and this is expensive,"^ it 
will fail to give as good results as chloride of zinc 

391 



where ^^ lb. of dry salts per cu. ft. is used. This can 
be verified by the records obtainable in this country and 
in Europe. 

If the tendency in this country is to return to the 
open-tank or Seely process, great care and judgment 
should be used, otherwise the results will be a failure, 
as heretofore. Yours truly, 

J. B. Card, Manager, 
Chicago Tie & Timber Preserving Co., Old Colony 
Bldg., Chicago, 111., Oct. 26, 1908. 



ON SEASONING TIMBER PREPARATORY 
TO TREATING 

The popular belief seems to be general that timbers 
in the shape of railroad cross-ties, timber and piling 
must be well seasoned before it can be impregnated 
by any of the usual methods. ^ The presumption is that 
if it is "well seasoned" that it is dry, or at least that 
it contains but a small amount of moisture and that 
the natural saps have become exhausted of the watery 
parts by evaporation. 

It is the purpose here to call attention to a case 
where four-inch sections were cut from apparently 
well air-seasoned ties that had been piled much longer 
than the conventional thirty to sixty days and from a 
stock of ties that were being treated in the usual 
course. 

The appended table shows the condition of the 
named woods after drying carefully for the purpose of 
testing for compressive strength, the oven being used 
and temperature below scorching. 



No. 


Name 


Wt.Cub.Ft 

when rec'd 

Lbs. 


Wt.Cub.Ft 

when dried 

Lbs. 


Loss Per Ct 
in weight 


Loss Per Ct 
in vol. 


1 

2 
3 

4 


Chestnut . 
Hackberry 
Poplar . . 
Willow . . 


49.8 
43.0 
30.1 
32.0 


39.36 
35.94 
22.65 

23.04 


29.34 
21.85 
32.81 
47.37 


18.32 
35.52 
27.49 
38.35 



Mean per cent of water, taking the mean, 32.84 29.92 



392 



The theoretic and somewhat academic rules so elab- 
orately put out for drying or air seasoning, contem- 
plates many expensive operations that could be avoided 
if ties were taken from the woods and immediately 
treated and put out on the line where needed. Elaborate 
and expensive storage yards, several rehandlings of the 
ties, a year's loss of life of the ties and of money 
involved, should be avoided. 

Ordinarily, considerable time elapses between the 
cutting and the receipt of the ties at the treating works, 
often from sixty to ninety days; time enough at least for 
the breaking down of the natural juices of the timber; 
experience seeming to point to this condition as a proper 
time to subject the wood to treatment. There is now 
very good reason for believing this to be correct and 
moreover if it is, the very great danger of inducing 
decay by this seasoning ( ?) is avoided. All in all, 
it would seem well to modify pet theories to conform 
to "experience." 

EXPERIENCE IS NECESSARY 

In the study of this and kindred subjects the knowl- 
edge and abilities should be of a two-fold nature, ac- 
quired knowledge and "experience." The former to lay 
the foundation for the latter and the experience to 
fill out and mature the judgment thus acquiring practic- 
able knowledge that will be a safe guide ever in the 
future. 

"The parrot can learn to say what others say; no 
matter how eloquent; the monkey will imitate what 
others do but in both cases without wisdom." 

In physical nature with which we have to deal, all 
technical knowledge is derived from experience, the 
very foundation of knowledge, and therefore should not 
be cast aside, scorned, but should be courted assiduously 
and its lessons carefully studied. Only in this way will 
"facts" be adduced. Self-aggrandizement, eloquence of 
speech or plausible theories and purely technical knowl- 
edge without experience is apt to be misleading and 
mischievous. 



TREATING FRESH CUT TIMBER 

The actual experiences here given bear directly on this 
much mooted question. The timbers here treated consist 
of a variety of the woods grown in upper Michigan 
and consisting of Birch, Beech, Hard and Soft Maples, 
Pines, Tamarack, Hemlock, two varieties of Elms, 
Sycamore, Hackberry, etc. The average size or volume 
of these ties is 3.3 cubic feet and being northern well 
grown wood, there is a minimum of sap wood — much 
less than with the same woods grown farther south. 

This timber was cut during the winter 1907-8 and in 
a climate where it remained frozen until near April, 
hence could not dry much before operations were com- 
menced upon the treatment. Tests made early in May 
showed the timber still full of the saps. 

The following synopsis of the treatment having seven 
hours and fifty minutes average time for each run will 
give a fair idea of the method of treatment, the zinc- 
creosote, (Card) process being used. 

Month of June, Steamed 3% hours. Under pressure 
2% hours. 

Month of July, Steamed 3% hours. Under Pressure 
2% hours. 

Month of August, Steamed 3V2 hours. Under pressure 
2% hours. 

Month of December, Steamed 2^^ hours. Under pres- 
sure 3 hours. 

TABULATION OF RESULTS 



Month 


Emulsion 


Name 
Wood 


Condi- 
tion 


Abs. 
Znc. 


Abs. 
Cre. 


Total 
Emulsion. 
Abs. Cu. n. 


June 

July 

August 

Decem- 
ber 


4pr. ct. Z. 
20 pr. ct. Cre. 

3 pr. ct. Z. 
13 pr, ct. Cre. 

3 pr. ct. Z. 
13 pr. ct. Cre. 

T, pr ct Z. 
17 pr. ct. Cre. 


Hem and 
Tam 

Hard 
Wood 

Hard 
Wood 

Soft 
Wood 


Green 

Partly 
Sea- 
soned 

Dry 
Dry 


.4232 
.4224 
.4551 

.4296 


2.191b. 
1.791b. 
1.99Ib. 
1.83Ib. 


10.88 lbs. 
13.83 lbs. 
15.28 lbs. 
10.76 lbs. 



394 



The absorption of Zinc is good. The absorption of 
the oil per tie is as follows : 

June 7.23 lbs. per tie for 3.3 cubic feet. 
July 5.90 lbs. per tie for 3.3 cubic feet. 
Aug. 6.00 lbs. per tie for 3.3. cubic feet. 
Dec. 6.50 lbs. per tie for 3.3 cubic feet. 
It does not seem that the treatment was retarded very 
much in consequence of the wood saps. 

Pertinent to this question is a report in relation to 
piles creosoted by the International Creosoting & Gons. 
Co., in 1895, for the railway causeway between the main- 
land and Galveston Island. Quoting from the Engi- 
neering News, 

"At present, all the railways enter Galveston over 
a single track viaduct about 11,000 feet long sup- 
ported on creosoted piling and over 4,000 separate 
piles. Over 2,000,000 cars have crossed this bridge 
since 1900. * * * The piles used * * * were 
all of Southern pine treated with 24 pounds of anhy- 
drous creosote oil per cubic foot. They were practic- 
ally all green when treated, most of them coming 
from the stump and being seasoned by steaming * * * 
Early this year there occurred the lowest water in 
years in the bay between Galveston Island and the 
mainland. The water was so low that two-thirds of 
the total number of piles were exposed to the mud 
line. This afforded opportunity for a most com- 
plete examination of each pile, and the official^ report 
of the inspection showed that not one pile originally 
furnished was in any way decayed." 
These instances are new developments but not ex- 
ceptional. Experiences at Somers, Montana, where ties 
from the saw were more easily treated than those piled 
to dry some little time and those experiences noted by 
W. G. Curtis of the Southern Pacific in California in 
the early history of the business must also still be held 
in mind. 

TREATING FRESH CUT TIMBER 

Dry wood is most easily permeated with zinc solu- 
tion, and with favorable woods, it becomes possible with 



creosote oils, but the danger remains that decay may 
have progressed during such drying so that the treat- 
ment is of little avail. 

Summing up the results of experiences of many years 
would seem to lead to a reliance on the mature knowl- 
edge derived from long experience and good judgment 
and common sense rather than upon that which is 
largely academic, the experience being lacking. (R,) 



RECORDS OF RESULTS 

The author recognizing the importance of actual 
records in determining the value of any treatment, en- 
tered into this matter at some length some years since 
as evidenced in the pages of this work, (pps. 289, etc.) 
but up to date of writing, little response has been elicited 
and little has been done to do anything effective. The 
records offered so far, with few exceptions, are so frag- 
mentary as to be very inconclusive. The plan here 
offered is simple and measurably inexpensive, but would 
give all necessary data. Without some such system of 
inspection and record, the whole matter remains open 
to the unsupported assumptions put forth by irrespon- 
sible and self- interested parties. Fortunately, in a few 
cases reliable records have been secured. Without care- 
fully kept, long extended inspection and record, little of 
value can be secured. This inspection should be made 
under the direction of the railroad company by their own 
engineers, no expert with a pet hobby or with an ax to 
grind will be safe to trust. 



396 



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I 



THE NEW GOSPEL 

The Author some time since took occasion to depre- 
cate the influence of ^'Commercialism on the business 
of the Preservation of Woods/' assuming the position 
that the railroads could better protect their interests 
and the trust invested in them in their official duties, a 
trust all the more sacred in proportion to its magnitude 
and importance, could best be secured by doing it and 
holding it in control by the company itself, directly. 

There seems, however, to have been a new element, 
a new phase of ethics at least, introduced into the busi- 
ness; it cannot be called business method; by which 
the business is being disturbed, for a time at least, by 
which the sum of acquired knowledge and the experience 
of many years is thrown aside scornfully and is being 
replaced or is being sought to be, and an untried method 
having absolutely no record as to its value as a treat- 
ment. Not only this; but it is being forced upon the 
railroad world to the exclusion of sane and tried 
methods long known to have been successful. 

It is claimed by this new gospel, that it is the essence 
of wisdom, that it be universally accepted, settling every 
doubt in the mind of every railroad manager so that he 
need know nothing more about it, except to wrap him- 
self in an abounding faith and allow his ties to be well 
blacked after elaborately piling them until they approach 
the verge of decay so as to allow them to be well 
(superficially) blacked. 

It may be well here to mention that a creosote oil 
containing a large percentage of coal tar "pitch," will 
better hide defects in process of treatment, or the 
addition of a little of the pitch, a worthless substance 
which costs but little and only retards the oil, deepens 
the color, etc. (no charge is made for this suggestion) 
saves money and prolongs the exposure of results. 

The most practical result is however that it will turn 
a bit of money to those in the business of promoting 
and to the railroads; What? 

400 



Furthermore, this is not all : Ordinarily to build 
and install a treating plant, a notice of such purpose 
to a competent engineer of experience that such a desire 
is entertained will at a reasonable compensation, secure 
immediate attention and an efficient, economically 
erected and operated plant can be secured. A shop 
draughtsman with absolutely no practical knowledge of 
the process cannot be trusted to do this. At this day, 
however, it is necessary to convince some one. Money 
convinces ; then if common sense interposes, anyone 
having the temerity to interpose, then he must subside 
or be crushed. Even the "EXPERTS" trained into this 
special line by the Forest Service are hired off, due 
probably to the government stamp being of value 
to the business, more than for the actual knowledge 
derived from the limited practical knowledge derived 
from the accidental connection therewith. Perhaps no 
greater detriment to sane practice can accrue to the 
business so important to the railroads and to the con- 
servation of our forests so ably advocated by our Presi- 
dent of the United States and our Forest Service, than 
from these so called experts with the limited practical 
experience in the matter. "A word to the wise.'' 

VALEDICTORY 

About twenty-four years ago the writer was intrusted 
with the management of the wood treating business for 
one of the largest railroad companies in the West. This 
duty was assumed as resident engineer owing loyalty 
and duty to the railroad company alone. Although 
having been engaged in railroad service for many years 
previous, during which my experience passed through 
almost every department of railroad construction, and 
operation, the business of wood preservation was new. 
Shouldering the responsibility, it became a duty to treat 
the matter honestly, carefully and thoroughly; the first 
duty was to thoroughly understand it, consequently a 
study was made of each and every phase as developed 
by the operation. This study was continued almost 
unremittingly up to this date, and results have been 
put into record and are embodied in this work, and 

401 



has been furnished to students in all parts of the world. 
^ The methods used are mainly founded on basic prin- 
ciples, theories cutting no figure, and every effort turned 
to verify by all means in reach, so that in most cases 
each point can be relied upon as facts. These studies 
have been carried forward to this time at great cost of 
money and time, entirely without aid from any source, 
and with very little recompense from those deriving 
benefit, either in money or thanks. Although this will 
be the last work on the Hand Book, the work will be 
continued to the end that the best possible work shall 
result eventually, and the author still pledges the best 
efforts and will not hesitate to interpose where dis- 
honest practices for the simple incentive is the money 
there is in it. The "Fakir'' must have his day, but it 
will be a short day, and when it ends, not only will he 
get his deserts, but those whom he has misled, inno- 
cently on their part, will have good reasons to mourn. 

The mischievous business method which our "Lin- 
coln," whose centennial birthday we celebrate, was 
too simple minded to even comprehend and against 
which our president has fought so strenuously, still pre- 
vails, and since "Timber Preservation" has grown to 
be so important, has invaded this field, presumably for 
the "money" there is in it. 

The writer, in one short lifetime has seen the country 
stripped of the bulk of its woods from the Atlantic coast 
to and into the continental divide, and at the present day 
the western slope is being invaded and ruthlessly slashed 
into. There are children living today that will live to 
see the country devastated of resources so that it must 
be on its decline, and our children forced to seek 
other climes. It is to be hoped, however, that our 
people will awake to this peril and that millionaire for- 
tunes, however acquired, will cease to be used to im- 
poverish the country. 

Chicago, February 12, 1909. 



402 



INDEX 1909 



PAGE 329 FORWARD 



Absorptive Properties of Timber ... 329-336 

Chloride of Zinc and Creosote 373 

Fungus Culture 375-380 

Life of Treated Ties A. T. & S. F. Ry 355-365 

Paving: Wood Blocks 380-384 

Concrete Base for 383-384 

In Chicago (Moore) , .385-389 

Cost of : in Chicago 389 

Paving Blocks : Experiments on 349 

Physical Properties of Timbers 329 336 

Timber: Seasoning for Treatment 392-393 

Treating Fresh Cut 394-396 

Open Tank (Card) 390-392 

" " Experience Necessary 393 

" '* Records Necessary 396 

Methods (Card) 365 

•'New Gospel" (Card) 400 

Should be Done by R. R. Co. 

(Beal) 369-370 

Should be Done by K. R, Co. 

(Rowe) 371 

'* Ultimate Strength of 344-348 

Woods of Mexico 351 

" Philippine Islands 353 

Zinc-Chloride : Does it Leach Out ( Angier) 397 

Zinc-Creosote: Card Process (Card) 398 



The 

Grasselli Chemical 
Company 

Main Office, CLEVELAND, OHIO 



Manufacturers of Heavy 
Chemicals 



CHLORIDE 
OFZINC 

Fused and Solution 



FOR WOOD PRESERVING 
PURPOSES 



Correspondence invited 



A CARD TO THE PUBLIC 



Our business is to design and install timber preserv- 
ing plants. In planning a plant to impregnate timber 
with preservative treatment the aim is to provide for 
those functions necessary to be performed and to do 
this in the most direct and perfect manner, in other words 
to make the plant a complete and perfect machine for 
the purpose within itself. To do this understandingly it 
is necessary to adapt the layout to the situation as to 
grounds, tracks of access, water supply, drainage, and 
other necessities for its operation. Such matters as the 
character of the buildings to cover the plant can be 
left to the judgment of the builder or to any good 
architect. 

The ability to do this well and to do it right is here 
offered, derived from long continued, careful study and 
practice such as cannot be possessed by any simple shop 
draughtsman with no practical experience in the opera- 
tion of a plant or the principles involved in the art of 
impregnation of the various woods. Any attempt in this 
direction on the part of such, will and have always proved 
abortive, resulting in expensive and clumsy experiment 
and lacking in many of the essentials of what a modern 
plant should possess. 

Those wishing faithful, honest service at reasonable 
compensation will not be disappointed, can trust us be- 
cause we know how. 

We will not make estimates of cost unless the manage- 
ment and control be under our direction until the plant 
is completed and installed, but will give such informa- 
tion as to cost of similar work so far as our past exper- 
ience enables us to do. We will not be sponsors for 
other peoples mistakes or extravagance, but would save 
every expense that will not aid in earning dollars in 
operation both in expense in methods and management. 



CARD. 

In compiling this work a large number of illus- 
trations have been introduced to more fully describe 
the various parts of the workings, but owing to the 
smallness of the page, most of these are too small to 
carry much value except to make a record of them. 

There are a number of tables of the same char- 
acter so small as to be read with difficulty. Full 
sized prints of the plans will be furnished at the 
regular price for such plans 'and the tables will be 
furnished at small advance of cost. 

Plans, specifications, inspection of works and in- 
stallation and also training of an operator is covered 
by a reasonable and fixed commission based upon 
the cost of the completed plant. 

Deviation from plans and specifications will be at 
risk of the company making the changes. 

We endeavor to select everything with reference 
to efficiency and reliability, at the same time econo- 
mizing as much as possible. 

We accept no commissions on machinery bought 
and will make no contracts for purchases except at 
the special request of the contracting company and 
under a special arrangement. 

ROWE & ROWE, 
Samuel M. Rowe, Mgr, 



303 



KNOWLES STEAM PUMP WKS. '£ 

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR TIMBER TREATING PLANTS. 



Chicago 

York 
Boston 




Surface Condensers with Combined Air and Circulating Pumps. 
Suction Valveless Vacuum Pumps, Single, Duplex, Tri- 
plex, Steam Power or Electric Pumps of all kinds. 
Duplex and Straight Line Air Compressors, Compound and 
Two Stage. Condensers, Feed Water Heaters and Meters. 

SEND FOR SPECIAL CATALOGS. 

We have equipped the following Timber Preserving Plants: 

edgemont, s. dak. 

e6canaba, mich. 

Kalispell, Mont. 

greenville, texas 

LAS VEGAS, N. M. 

. OMAHA, NEB. 

PORTLAND, ORE. 

CO. ALAMOSA, COLO. 

SO. ENGLEWOOD, ILL. 

MOUNT VERNON, ILL. 

ALAMOGORDO, N. MEX. 



C. B.&Q. R. R. CO. 
CAN. W. R. R. CO. . 
GREAT NORTHERN RY. CO. 
M. K. &T. R. R. CO. . 
A. T. AS. F RY. CO. 
UNION PACIFIC R. R. CO. 
OREGON RY. & NAV. CO. 
DENVER & RIO GRANDE RY. 

CHICAGO TIE PRES. CO. 

ALAMOGORDO LBR. CO. 



Allis- Chalmers Co. 



CHICAGO, U. S. A. 

Builders of 



TIMBER PRESERVING PLANTS 




1 72 inches x 109 feet. 
109 



Following is a list of the companies for whom we have 
built timber preserving machinery and other apparatus : 

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe 

Texas Tie and Lumber Preserving Co. 3 72 

Ed. A. Ayer 4 72 

Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar . 1 60 

Chicago Tie Preserving Co . . . 1 72 

Missouri, Kansas & Texas . . . 3 72 

Great Northern R. R. Co. . . . 4 72 

Ayer & Lord Tie Company . . 8 74 

National Lumber Co. . . . 1 72 

Chicago & Northwestern R. R. .3 72 

Denver & Rio Grande R. R. . . 3 74 

Mexican Central R. R. . . . 1 74 



Ayer«& Lord Tie Company (repeat order) 1 74 



109 
50 
117 
108 
108 
125 
125 
110 
110 
125 
125 




Cylinder and Bolster Cars 



We contract for installing com- 
plete Tie Treating Plants ready for 
operation or furnish materials only. 
We manufacture Steam Pumps and 
Boilers, Tanks, all sizes, wood or 
steel; Steam and Gasoline Engines, 
Special Cars of all kinds. Pipe, 
Fittings, Valves, etc. 

FAIRBANKS, MORSE & CO, 

CHICAGO 



The Qrasselli Chemical Co. 

CLEVELAND, OHIO. 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

Chloride of Zinc 1^1^^^^,?^% 

CORRESPONDENCE INVITED. 

GENERAL CHEMICAL COMPANY 

135 Adams St., Chicago, Illinois. 

Manufacturers of CHLORIDE OF ZINC 

Fused and Solution, Highest Quality, for Timber Pre- 
serving. Large Contracts Solicited. 

NORTHERN EXTRACT CO. 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

Hemlock Bark Extract 

ESPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN THE PRESERVATION OF WOODS 
FOR RAILROAD TIES, BRIDGE TIMBERS, PILING, ETC. 

CHICAGO office: 144 KINZIE ST. 
WORKS AT ALPEP^A, MiCH. 
BRADFORD TABER, President. 

Ke^ANEB B9IL&FI C^i^ANY 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

Horizontal Tubular Steam Boilers for Power 

With Fronts, Castings, Smol(estacl<s and incidental appliances. 
167-169 EAST LAKE STREET CHICAGO 

FOSTER STEAM SUPERHEATERS 

High temperatures without increased pressure 

POWER SPECIALTY COMPANY, 

126 Liberty St., New York. 




Lidgerwood Hoists, Steam or Electric, 
are in use at the following Tie Preserving 
Plants : 

Las Vegas Timber Preserving Works, Las Vegas, New Mex. 

Union Pacific Timber Preserving Works, Laramie, Wyo. 

Texas Tie & Lumber Preserving Co., Somerville, Tex. 

The Santa Fe Pacific Timber Preserving Works, Bellemont, 
Ariz. 

Mt. Vernon Timber Preserving Works, Mt. Vernon, III. 

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Tie Preserving Works, 
Edgemont, S . D . 

The Missouri, Kansas & Texas Timber Preserving Works, 
Greenville, Tex. 

The Alamogordo Lumber Company, Alamogordo, New Mex. 

Ayer & Lord Tie Co., Carbondale, 111. 

Ayer & Lord Tie Co., Grenada, Miss. 

Union Pacific R'y Tie Preserving Works, Cheyenne, Wyo. 

Denver & Rio Grande R'y Timber Preserving Works, Ala- 
mosa, Colo. 

The Chicago Tie Preserving Co., Chicago, 111. 

SEND FOR CATALOaUE. 

LIDQERWOOD MANUFACTURING COMPANY, 

1 510 Old Colony Bldg., 

Chicago, 111. 



steel Tanks of every description and any capacity 



TANKS 



Cylinder Tanks, Upright Tanl<s, 
Pressure Tani(S, Stills, Kettles, 
Boxes, Pans, Shells, Riveted Pipe, 
CAR TANKS AND TANK CARS. 



Wm. Graver Tank Works ?03"DL?ao*R»%? 



RETORTS, TANKS AND TOWERS 

FOR WOOD PRESERVING PLANTS 

CHICAGO BRIDGE & IRON WORKS 

105th and Throop Sts., CHICAGO, ILL. 



Diamond Qlue Company 




Qeaeral Office, 218 La Salle St., CHICAGO 

MANUFACTURERS OF 

ESPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR USE IN PRESERVING WOOD. 



ROWE & ROWE. 

TO THE PUBLIC : For eighteen years we have given the 
business of planning and installing Timber Preserving 
Works the closest and most careful study, both as to the 
efficiency of treatment and to the simplification of the ap- 
pliances. We now believe that we can assure the very best 
results. Our "Hand Book" containing most of the results of 
our study, although not intended for publication, has been 
freely given out, it being our wish to withhold nothing from 
those really interested. We believe now that our facilities 
for designing and for installation are unequaled; our terms 
most reasonable, enabling us to give much of this advantage 
to our patrons. 

We will also, v^hen desired, inspect as to methods and 
efficiency of treatment by any works, and at moderate com- 
pensation. 

The following list of works will give some idea of the 
extent of our experience : 

1885. A. T. & S. F. Ry. Las Vegas, N. M. Operated several 

years. 
1887. Union Pac. R. R. Laramie, Wyo. Plans. 

1897. T. T. &L. P. Co. Somerville, Tex. Plans, Supervision 
and Operation. 

1898. Santa Fe Pac. Bellemont, Ariz. Plans, Supervisions 
and Operation. 

1898. C. & E. I. R. R. Mt. Vernon, 111. Plans revised for O. 
Chanute. 

1899. Great Northern Ry. Kalispell, Mont. Plans, Super- 
vision and Installation. 

1899. B. &. M. R. Ry. Edgemont, S. Dak. Plans, Supervis- 
ion and Installation. 

1900. H. C. Sugar Co. Hawaii, S. I. Plans with full directions. 

1900. Mex. Cent. R. R. Mexico. Consulting Engineer. 

1901. M. K. & T. Ry. Greenville, Tex. Plans, Supervision 
and Installation. 

1901. Alamogordo L. Co. Alamogordo, N. M. Plans, Super- 
vision and Installation. 

1901. Rocky Mt. Timb. Co. Colo. Plans, Supervision and 
Installation. 

1902. Ay er Lord Tie Co. Carbondale, 111. Consulting Engin'r. 

1903. " " " Miss. Consulting Engineer. 
1902. Union Pacific. Portable Plant. Shop Inspection. 
1902. O. R.&N. Co. 

1902. A. T. & S. F. Plans and Snecifications. 

1903. D. & R. G. Alamosa, Colo. Plans, Specifications and 
Installation. 

ROWE & ROWE 
SAMUEL M. ROWE, - - . - Manager. 



BUSINESS DIRECTORY. 

For the convenience of our patrons and ourselves 
we introduce this short directory, giving name and 
address of those dealing in the articles named. This 
must not be understood as excluding others in the 
same line. 

Boilers. 

Kewanee Boiler Co., 167-169 E. Lake St., Chicago. 
Hamlin Boiler and Tank Co., 39th and Halsted Sts., Chi- 
cago. 

Scully Steel and Iron Co., 130-136 Fulton St., Chicago. 
Cast Iron Pipe. 

F. K. Bowes & Co., 277 Dearborn St., Chicago. 

Jas. B. Clow & Sons, Franklin and Harrison Sts., Chicago. 

Cables. 
Lldgerwood Mfg. Co., Old Colony Bldg., Chicago. 
Jno. Roehling Sons Co., 171-173 E. Lake St., Chicago. 
A. Leschen & Sons Rope Co., 137 E. Lake St., Chicago. 

Chloride of Zinc. 
Grasselli Chemical Co., Cleveland, Ohio. 
General Chemical Co., 135 Adams St., Chicago. 

Hydrometers, Cliemical Appliances, Etc. 
e Hohmann & Maner Mfg. Co., 119 Lake St., Chicago. 
A. Daigger, 132-134 E. Lake St., Chicago. 

Creosote (Dead Oil). 
Barrett Mfg. Co., Loan and Trust Bldg., Chicago. 
Electric L-igliting:. 

General Electric Co., Monadnock Bldg., Chicago. 
We stinghouse Electric and Mfg. Co., Pittsburg, Pa. 
Glue. 

Diamond Glue Co., R. 422, 218 La Salle St., Chicago. 
American Glue Co., 148-150 E. Kinzie St., Chicago. 

Hoisting Engines. 
Lidgerwood Mfg. Co., Old Colony Bldg., Chicago 
Lead Sheet. 

Ra ymond Lead Co., 51-59 W. Lake St., Chicago. 
E. W. Blatchford & Co., 70 N. Clinton St., Chicago. 



Liead Burning:. 

J. J. Tuttle, 453 Flournoy St., Chicago. 

J. J. Wade & Sons, 52 Dearborn St., Chicago. 

Pressure Gauges and Thermometers. 
Schaffer & Budenherg Mfg. Co., 15 W. Lake St., Chicago. 
Pumps and Condensers. 

Knowles Steam Pump Works, New York Life Bldg., Chi- 
cago. 

Wheeler Condenser and Engineering Co., R. 1137 Monad- 
nock Bldg., Chicago. 

Fairbanks, Morse & Co., Franklin and Monroe Sts., Chi- 
cago. 

Pipe and Fittings. 

Jno. Davis Co., 226. and Halsted Sts., Chicago. 

Crane Company, Jefferson and Randolph Sts., Chicago. 

Jas. B. Clow & Sons, Franklin and Harrison Sts., Chicago. 

Ketorts. 

Allis- Chalmers, New York Life Bldg., Chicago. 

Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., 105th and Throop Sts., Chi- 
cago. 

Hamlin Boiler and Tank Co., 39th and -Halsted Sts., Chi- 
cago. 

Scully Steel and Iron Co., 130-136 Fulton St., Chicago. 
Booting, Pipe Covering and Asbestos Packing. 

Chicago Fire Proof Covering Co., 18-20 N. Canal St., Chi- 
cago. 

H. W. Johns-Manville Co., 171-173 Randolph St., Chicago. 

Western Roofing and Supply Co., 177 Randolph St., Chi- 
cago, 

Scales. 

Fairbanks, Morse & Co., Franklin and Monroe Sts., Chi- 
cago. 

Sheaves and Guide Pulleys. 

Link Belt Machinery Co., 39th and Stewart Sts., Chicago. 

Superheaters. 

Power Specialty Co., 126 Liberty St., New York. 

Tanks. 

Fairbanks, Morse & Co., Franklin & Monroe Sts., Chi- 
cago. 

W. B. Rose Supply Co., Lincoln Trust Bldg., St. Louis. 

Wm. Graver, Tank Works (Steel Tanks) 303 Dearborn St., 
Chicago. 



Tram Cars. 

Fairbanks, Morse «& Co., Franklin & Monroe Sts., Chicago. 
Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., 105th & Throop Sts., Chicago. 
Tannin. 

Northern Extract Co., 144 Kinzie St., Chicago. 
A. Klipstein & Co., 132 Pearl St., New York. 
Track Fixtures. 

Paige Iron Works, Room 427 Monadnock Bldg, , Chicago. 
Ajax Forge Co., 138 E. Jackson Blvd., Chicago. 
Valves. 

Chapman Valve Co., 28 S. Canal St., Chicago. 

Eddy Valve Co., Waterford, N. Y. 

Jenkins Bros. Valve Co., 31-33 N. Canal St., Chicago. 

Differential Pulleys. 
H. Channon Co., Market & Randolph Sts., Chicago. 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

Alamosa yard 10 

Absorbent properties of timber, "A" 147 

"B" 148 

"C" .,. 149 

"D" 150 

Boilers, steam 12 

Blow-back system (3 movement) 20 

Bolster car — 31 

Buildings— General layout 33 

Condenser and hot well 16, 46 

Cooling tower 22 

Creosote plant 115 

Diagram, Glue 63 

" Quebracho 73 

'• Tannin 72 

" Runs 48 

" Showing relative per cent cross ties removed. . . 172 

" Vacuum 168 

Graphic Table, Density of chloride of zinc , 50 

" " Weight of chloride of zinc 52 

Hammer, Stamping 37 

Heating coils for creosote, chloride and tannin tank 25 

Hydrometer reading for glue 64 

" " " Quebracho extract 75 

" " " tannin 75 

Indicator board and float 37 

Original yard (Las Vegas) 7 

Renewals, Rate of 171 

Report, Monthly 81, 82 

" Operators' 78 

Retort No. 2 43, 178 

" and Foundation 116 

" section, with car, trackage and steam coil for cre- 
osote 117 

" section with tram car 29 

Ruping process, The 131 

Sheaves and guide pulleys 27 

Solution pipes (tentative plan 8 retort works) 40 

" " and valves (8 retort works) 41 

" " (3 movement) 19 

Special cross for inside steam pipe 120 

Steam coil for retort 118 

piping (G. N. Ry.) 24 

Statement 176 

*' of operation 77 

Table " A " No. 1... 56 

" '*B" " 2 57 

" "C" " 3 58 

" B " cubic ft. concentrated solution required per 

tub foot 144 



ILLUSTRATIONS-Continued. 

PAGE 

Table " B " weight concentrated solution required per 

tub foot 145 

Tie loader, Angler's — 165 

Thermometers showing method of attachment 45 

Treated ties removed, per cent of 143 

Tram car (Rowe's improved ball bearing) 33 

" " Roller bearing axle 159 

" Study in 163 

Tramway (Alamosa yard) , 28 

Unloading tank for creosote 119 

Vats, lead lined 18 

'* weighing 35 



C. B. & Q. works, Sheridan, Wyo 190 

" " " " yard " " 200 

(( a *« ii works, Edgemont, S. D 193 

Edgemont works during construction 191 

G. N. works during construction 199 

Las Vegas plant - 186 

Machinery room. Bellemont, Ariz 193 

G.N. Ry 197 

Sheridan, Wyo 201 

" " Somerville, Texas 189,195 

Original two cylinder works. Las Vegas, N. M 187 

Retort of U. P. and O. R. & N. Go's, portable plants 196 

Six cylinder works, Somerville, Texas 188 

Solution pipes, G. N. Ry . works 198 

Tram car 185 

Two retort works, Bellemont, Ariz 194 

C. & N. W. Ry. works, Escanaba, Mich 202 



INDEX. 

PAGE 

Absorption of chloride, tannin, glue 76 

" by volume 76 

Appliances, Character of 9, 66 

Burnettizing 89 

Harry Grimshaw 102 

" Cost of (J. D. Isaacs) 107 

Caution 9, 89 

Chemicals, Preparation of 51, 68 

" Rule for mixing 49 

Computation, Convenient table 166 

" During operation 71 

*' Units in 89 

Creosoting, Cost of (J. D. Isaacs) 122 

(Harry Grimshaw) 101 

Inspection 114 

(Norfolk Creosoting Co.) 109 

Process 113 

Southern Pacific programme 114 

Specifications for 112 

Dating Nail 36 

Door, Spider 81 

" Weight of 11 

" Bolted 15 

Expansion of fluids by heat 92 

Gelatine, (Glue) 55, 70 

G. M. Hyams 60 

" Penetration of (O. Chanute) 62 

Hammer, Stamping 34 

Introduction , . 5 

Kyanizing 103 

Metric System. Weights and measures 92 

Notes and Explanations 146 

Oil of Tar, Composition of . . . 125 

" " " Emulsion of 126 

(i 4; u Pressing in 125 

Operation, Rule of 34 

Plant, Installation of 67 

Portable Plant 30 

Processes, Creo-Resinate 134 

" Creosoting (Patented) 106 

Hasselman, The 1 30, 133 

Ruping, The 126, 128 

*' Three Movement, The 153 

Wellhouse, The 5, 6 

" Zinc Creosote (Rutgers) 123 

Record of routine work 79 

Retort, Lagging of 91 

" Proper proportions of 163 

" Volume of 67 



INDEX— Continued. 

PAGE 

Saps, Extracted ...80, 180 

Solutions, Determination of strength of 54 

Increase of strength of 156 

Increase of temperature 157 

Implements for testing 93 

Preparation of 53 

Temperature of 42 

Test of strength of tannin (Tub solution) 93 

Steam. Introduction to retort 179 

" Penetration of 86 

•' Superheated 43 

Steaming and Vacuum, Effect of 99 

Storage of ties in yard 84 

Tannin Extract 63, 70 

" :r„ " Test of strength of tub solution 93 

Temperature of solutions 42 

Tie loader (Angler's) 164 

Timber, Absorption'powers of 146, 154, 181 

" Computing volume 76 

" Determination of life of 170 

" Effect of treatment as to strength 158 

" Kinds and conditions of 80 

" Preservation of (Harry Grimshaw) 99 

" Seasoning of 83 

" Value of treatment of 135, 173 

" When cooked through 98 

Tram cars, Coupling for 164 

'* " Improvement of 160 

Vacuum, Theory of (S. W. Robinson) 167 

Visual tests. Chloride of zinc 95 

" Glue 97 

*' " Tannin 97 

Water for dilution 55 

Wellhouse process. Chemicals used 49 

Zinc Chloride, Preparation of 68 

" " Test for purity 94 

*' '' Test for strength 91 



INDEX TO APPENDIX 



Page 

Analysis of Dead Oil of Coal Tar 241-280 

Amount of Oil Withdrawn by Vacuum (J. B. Card) .279-280 
An Arraignment (Western Railway Club Meeting Dec. 

16, '02). 316-318 

A Typical Tree 326-327 

Boiling Point in Vacuo 183 

Bolted Door for Retort (plate) 190 

Burnett Process, Specifications 216 

Barometric Condenser 257 

Creosoting Process (Eppinger & Russell) 208-209 

Creosoting Specifications (Chanute) 195-198 

Creosoting Specifications (Rov/e) 221-223 

Creosote, How Made (Hausser) 241-243 

Cost of Various Processes Compared (Rowe) 230 

Cost of Timber Preserving Plant 260 

Chemical Treatment of Timber (Engineer News) ... .263-270 

Cast Steel High Pressure Retort Door and Flange 261 

Centrifugal Pump Connection for Card Process 293 

Compressed Air = 288 

Conservation of Forests in America 308-315 

Experimental Plant for Laboratory (Rowe) 255 

Economy of Compressor vs. Pump 287 

Fvmdamentals To Be Considered in Plans 259 

Giussani Process 210-240 

Heat While Steaming Under Vacutim (Table) 184-185 

Inspection of Ties in Track. Record of Results 291 

Inspection of Ties in Track 289-290 

Knowles Pump Co. Table of Compressed Air 288 

Kilogramme, Equivalent in Pounds A.voirdupois (Table).. 213 

Life of Treated Ties on C. R. L & P. R. R. (Table) 186 

Loading Ties in Box Cars (Angier) 256-257 

Lead Lining for Wooden Tank 262 

Natural Oil as a Preservative 319-324 

Oil Joint for Conducting Pipe (Martin).. 211 

Oil Joint Applied to Discharge of Cargo (I. C. R. R.)...212 
Over Pressure on Timber 284-286 



Processes Sr Agents (Rowe) 288-231 

Piling and Seasoning Before Treating and Drying After 

Treating of Ties 256 

Program for Testing Amount Soluble Matter Removed 

by Steaming 277-^79 

Records of Operation (Chanute) 206-207 

Report of Treated Ties Removed First Six Months 1905 

(Faulkner) 214 

Rueping Process (Creosote) 233-239-240 

Saturated Steam; In Timber Preservation (Beal) 223-227 

Specifications for Treating Timber (Rowe) 215-223 

Specifications for Creosoting (Rowe) 221-222 

Specifications for Burnettizing (Rowe) 216 

Specifications for Zinc-tannin or Wellhouse (Rowe) , .217-220 

Summary of Timber Treating (Rowe) 239-240 

Specifications for the Treatment of Timber 255 

Steaming Timber Before Impregnating (A. A. Robin- 
son) 300-301 

Special 6" Flange for Agitator (Card Process) 258 

Tentative Plan for Eight Retort Plant (plate) 187-189 

Timber Treating and Testing Laboratory (plates) 244-2'54 

Timber Treating (Chanute) Creosote and Zinc-tannin. 191-206 

Tree Movement (Zinc-tannin Process) 219 

Theory of Steaming Timber 271-276 

The Use of Compressed Air for Shifting Solutions and 

Oils 287 

Temperature of Compressed Air. 287 

The Zinc-creosote (Rutger) Process (J. B. Card) 292-299 

The Steaming of Timber (O. Chanute) 302-307 

Treating of Paving Blocks 325 

The Use of S. Irons 326 

Wasting Away of Chloride of Zinc 281-283 

What We Have Done 32.«) 

Zinc-tannin Process on A. T. & S. F. R. R 231-233 

Zinc-tannin Process (Tabulation of Records) 234-238 

Zinc-creosote Process (The Rutger Process) 215-240 



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